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The State Capitol—Erected 1909 












KENTUCKY 

The Pioneer State oj the West 


BY 

THOMAS CRITTENDEN CHERRY 


WITH INTRODUCTION BY 

IRVIN S. COBB 




D. C. HEATH AND COMPANY 


BOSTON 


NEW YORK 


CHICAGO 


~f-57 

.Ci'a 


Copyright, 1923, by 
D. C. HEATH AND COMPANY 
2F3 



JUL 2t 73 


© CU752184 




I 



PREFACE 


** X-V> 


History reveals to the reader the past and present 
world of human activity and discovers to him the rela¬ 
tion of great social and political movements to events. 
Cause and effect will always be found standing in 
logical relation to each other. If rightly understood 
history inspires the reader with nobler ideals, stimu¬ 
lates him to heroic deeds, and furnishes him with 
useful knowledge. It helps him to explain his own 
life and to understand his own part in the great world 
drama. 

Human conduct has been much the same since time 
began. The behavior of a group of people in any age 
or country may, in a great measure, interpret that of 
all large groups. The history of any state of our 
Nation will be found similar to that of any other state, 
and to that of the social and political movements of 
our country as a whole. The story of Kentucky is an 
inspiring page in the history of our great country that 
should lead the reader to a right appreciation of the 
dangers and hardships endured, and the sacrifices 
made by the American pioneers. It should awaken 
in the reader a desire to emulate all praiseworthy 
actions and to condemn selfish and cowardly conduct. 
The foregoing will indicate to the thoughtful teacher 
that the history of Kentucky should be studied in con¬ 
nection with the history of the United States. 


IV 


PREFACE 


The history of Kentucky in many ways is unique. 
Cut oft from the nearest settlements of the East by 
hundreds of miles of savage-haunted and forest cov¬ 
ered mountains, this inland wilderness became the 
scene of the most bloody and heroic struggle in the his¬ 
tory of the states of our Union. Beginning at the break¬ 
ing out of the Revolutionary War, the first settlers 
received the full force of the savage attacks of British 
and Indian foes. In spite of these, this heroic band of 
pioneers succeeded in founding their homes and be¬ 
coming a powerful guard at the back door of the colo¬ 
nies of the East. Chiefly through their efforts the 
Northwest Territory was wrested from the British and 
Indians, which, by the treaty of 1783, became a part 
of the territory of the United States. This westward 
thrust, delivered in the nick of time, likewise led to 
the successful conquest of all that vast domain to the 
Pacific Sea. From the time of the settlement of Ken¬ 
tucky the boundary of the United States was logically 
extended to include all the territory west of the 
Appalachian Mountains, and to lay the foundation of 
our present national greatness. Subsequent to the 
founding of the State its development has followed 
similar lines to that of other states of the Union. 

To the Teacher.— It is impossible to compress the 
heroic story of the Pioneer State of the West into a 
limited narrative without omitting many important 
details which give added life and interest to the story. 
For this reason many references are given to further 
sources of information that will make interesting sup¬ 
plementary readings. 


PREFACE 


v 


Wherever possible, strong representative leaders 
have been made the center of historic movements. The 
study of great men, great measures, great social and 
political ideals are the things most worth while in the 
history of any people. A right understanding of the 
history of Kentucky will engender state pride and a 
high spirit of patriotism. 

In many instances the author has endeavored to 
connect the principal movements in the history of the 
State in a narrative form instead of following a strict 
chronological order. 

Only a few of the most important questions have 
been appended to each chapter. They will serve to 
suggest many others to the thoughtful teacher. 

Most of the text has been tested in classes in Ken¬ 
tucky history in an effort to adapt the story to the 
range of thought and interest of the young student. 
The text has been divided into lesson chapters repre¬ 
senting, as nearly as possible, units of special historic 
values. This arrangement will commend itself as an 
aid to both teacher and pupil. 

The author acknowledges with gratitude the valu¬ 
able aid rendered him by many friends, fellow 
teachers, and capable critics who have contributed 
their sympathy and help in the preparation of this 
work. Special mention is due Messrs. Ballard Thrus- 
ton and Otto Rothert, members of the Filson Club, 
Hon. George Colvin, Supt. of Public Instruction, 
Miss Ella Jeffries of the Western Kentucky Normal 
School, Prof. A. W. Mell and Hon. M. M. Logan for 
their thoughtful and helpful criticisms of the manu- 


PREFACE 


vi 

script. Whatever the merit, the author sends forth 
this volume as a work of love, and the devotion of 
years of labor to the idea of a worthy service to the 
youth of our great Commonwealth. 


CONTENTS 

* * » 

Introduction: Irvin S. Cobb .xi 

Prehistoric Era 

CHAPTER PAGE 

I Kentucky before the White Man Came . . 1 

II Mound Builders. 5 

III The Indians of North America.10 

Period of Exploration and Settlement 

IV Early Explorers.16 

Y Vanguard of the Pioneers.21 

YI The Pioneer and His Indian Foe .... 30 

YII Attempted Settlement of Kentucky ... 35 

VIII First Settlement of Kentucky.41 

IX The Failure of the Transylvania Company . 49 

X Progress in the Settlement of Kentucky . . 54 

XI Early Roads.59 

XII Perilous Days.65 

XIII Clark Plans an Expedition against British 

and Indians.72 

XIV Clark’s Expedition.77 

XY Hardships and Dangers of Early Years . . 82 

XYI Destruction of Indian Towns.88 

XVII Attack on Bryan’s Station.93 

XVIII Origin of Pioneer People.100 

XIX Separation from Virginia. Struggle for State¬ 
hood .106 

• • 

vu 














CONTENTS 


vm 


CHAPTER 

XX Kentucky Enters the Union. 

XXI Side Lights on Kentucky's Struggle for State¬ 
hood . 

XXII A Review of Ten Years. 

XXIII Later Border Troubles. 


XXIV 

XXV 

XXVI 

XXVII 

XXVIII 

XXIX 

XXX 

XXXI 

XXXII 

XXXIII 

XXXIV 

XXXV 

XXXVI 

XXXVII 

XXXVIII 

XXXIX 

XL 

XLI 

XLII 

XLIII 

XLIV 

XLV 


Period of Commonwealth 

Setting Up the State Government . 

The Big Sandy Valley and Other Settlements 
A Political Crisis. 

Character, Manners and Customs of Early 
Kentuckians. 

Political Beginnings. 

Political Movements and Westward Expansion 
Burr’s Conspiracy. Battle of Tippecanoe 

Kentucky in War of 1812. 

Close of War of 1812. 

Financial Struggles. 

The Old Court and New Court Parties . 

Happenings of Thirty Years. 

State Affairs and the Mexican War . 

Period of Unrest. 

Kentucky’s Loyalty to the Union .... 

Kentucky’s Neutrality. 

The Civil War. 

The Second Invasion of Kentucky. Morgan’s 
Cavalry . 

Close of the War. Peace and Reconstruction 

Political - Affairs. 

Civil Affairs. 

Educational Progress and Resources of Ken- 


page 

114 

122 

130 

137 

145 

155 

161 

168 

177 

185 

192 

199 

207 

215 

222 

230 

237 

246 

255 

263 

271 

281 

291 

302 

311 


TUCKY 


319 


















CONTENTS 


IX 


CHAPTER PAGE 

XLVI War, Waste and Progress. 327 

XLVII Politics, Problems and Population % 334 

XLVIII Then and Now. 343 

XLIX The Constitution of Kentucky. 352 










































































































































































































































































. 








































































* 
























. 








































INTRODUCTION 


I have read a good many histories of Kentucky. I 
have never read a better one than this. 

To begin with, it is the work of a native of our State; 
a man whose contribution to education and culture in 
the State has been splendid, and one who has brought 
to this undertaking a sincere love for Kentucky, for 
its people, its institutions, its traditions, its noble past 
and its hopeful future. 

The History itself, it seems to me, is admirably 
adapted for the purpose which inspired its writing. 
It is not burdensome, but it is complete. It is fair, it is 
honest, and it is truthful. 

As a textbook I am sure it amply will serve the need 
for making the youth of Kentucky properly acquainted 
with their own State. They should, in maturity, be 
better citizens for having studied it. Certainly, it will 
inspire their young minds with a proper pride in 
Kentucky. 




A Wilderness Scene 






KENTUCKY 

The Pioneer State of the West 


PREHISTORIC ERA 
CHAPTER I 

KENTUCKY BEFORE THE WHITE MAN CAME 

Before the coming of the earliest explorers and 
settlers Kentucky was a vast wilderness and rugged 
waste still unchanged by the hand of civilized man. 
It was bounded by the broad Ohio on the north, to 
the east lay the cloud-capped Allegheny Mountains, 
and to the south the endless forests and streams of 
what is now Tennessee, while the mighty “ Father of 
Waters” washed its western shores. This territory, 
comprising over forty thousand square miles, shield- a 
shaped, 1 and sloping westward, made a changing scene 
of hills and mountains, rivers and valleys, forests and 
open stretches of fertile lands called “Barrens.” 
Numerous rivers, choked by fallen trees and fed by 

1 ‘ 1 A mighty tableland lies southward in a hardy region of our 
country. It has the form of a colossal shield, lacking and broken in 
some of its outlines and rough and rude of make. Nature forged it 
for some crisis in her long warfare of time and change, made use of 
it, and so left it lying as one of her ancient battle pieces—Kentucky. 
The great shield is raised high out of the earth at one end and sunk 
deep into it at the other. ” “The Bride of the Mistletoe, “ James 
Lane Allen. 


1 


2 


KENTUCKY 


pure springs, wound in and out down the fertile valleys. 
Most of these streams rose in the mountains or high¬ 
lands and after wandering in many directions poured 
their waters into the beautiful Ohio. 1 Here and there 
the silence was broken by rippling shoals or roaring 
waterfalls which mingled their music with the dis¬ 
cordant cries of wild animals and fowls and the war 
whoop of roving bands of savages. Numerous caves 
cut by winding underground streams in bygone ages, 
opened their gloomy portals upon a wild landscape 
adding a charm of mystery to the scene. Benpath the 
everlasting hills lay vast beds of coal, iron ore, and 
pools of oil, and from its surface grew endless forests 
of finest timber, all waiting the coming of the white 
man and the needs of civilization. Many wild flowers 
and shrubs bloomed in abundance everywhere, fertile 
stretches of open land were covered with clover and 
wild pea vines, and beautiful birds of many varieties 
gladdened the scene with their songs. 

Fish of many kinds swarmed in the creeks and rivers, 
and swans, ducks, geese and many other native water 
fowls floated upon the peaceful waters or wound 
their flight from stream to stream and lake to lake in 
large flocks. Pigeons in countless numbers and beauti¬ 
fully colored parrakeets swarmed in the forests, and 
great owls uttered their solemn notes in the twilight 
of the dismal woods. Numerous flocks of wild turkeys 
fed upon an abundance of acorns, hazelnuts, chestnuts, 
wild berries, and the many varieties of insects that in¬ 
fested the woods and Barrens. 

Dense forests crowded to the water’s edge and reach- 

1 Ohio is an Indian name, O-Y-O, meaning beautiful river. 


BEFORE THE WHITE MAN CAME 3 

ing back in endless confusion, through valleys and up¬ 
hill slopes, were matted in many places with ^ tangled 
undergrowth of bushes, briars and vines that made dif¬ 
ficult a passage even for the wild animals. Giant 
forests of oak and tulip, beech and ash, sycamore and 
linden, cedar and pine, and many other varieties of 
trees grew so close that their leafy branches spread a 
canopy through which the rays of the sun could 
scarcely penetrate, producing twilight effects even at 
high noon. 

Through these forests roamed immense herds of 
buffalo, deer, and elk which broke out paths or trails 
to watering places, salt licks, and barren patches of 
land covered with wild grasses. 

Many other animals roamed the woods, and birds 
in great abundance swarmed in the forests. Panther 
and wild cat crouched in the dense canebrakes or on 
overhanging cliffs ready to spring upon their unsus¬ 
pecting victims. Bear and large packs of wolves that 
lived in the caves prowled through the forests in 
search of their prey. A solemn stillness reigned every¬ 
where except when broken by a confusion of forest 
sounds. Nature seemed to have heaped up her many 
bounties in this new land to make it a fit dwelling 
place for God’s wild creatures. 

The ruthless hand of civilized man had not yet dis¬ 
turbed the natural beauty and freshness of this won¬ 
derful scene. For unnumbered years the seasons 
came and went but there was none to plow, sow and 
reap as civilized men are used to do, but the forests, 
each year, yielded a rich harvest of wild fruits and 
nuts. No roar of engines, no rumble of machinery, 


4 


‘KENTUCKY 


no hum of commerce nor ringing of church and school 
bells broke the stillness of this wild region. To this 
picturesque land of natural wealth and rugged beauty, 
nearly two hundred years ago, came the first white 
explorers, hunters, and settlers, with rifle and ax, 
to convert it into a land now inhabited by civilized 
men, and ruled by the arts and institutions of civilized 
life. 

In this wilderness an equal battle had gone on for 
ages among the native tribes in their struggle for 
existence, but with the coming of the white man and 
his civilization all was changed. How Kentucky was 
explored and settled, how the Red Man was driven 
from his favorite hunting ground, how the noble 
forests fell with one continued groan before the woods¬ 
man’s ax, how the wild animals and birds have disap¬ 
peared before their destroyers, and how the whole 
face of nature has been changed by the hand of the 
white man, is told in the following pages. 


QUESTIONS AND SUGGESTIONS. 

What is the shape and area of Kentucky? What does Mr. Allen 
say about it? Describe the wild appearance of the State before the 
white man came. Name some plants, trees, birds and animals found 
in Kentucky that are not mentioned in the chapter. What has become 
of the Wilderness and its inhabitants? 


CHAPTER II 

THE MOUND BUILDERS 


Many years ago, possibly thousands of years before 
the white man came to Kentucky 1 it was inhabited by 
a people called “Mound Builders.” Whether these 
ancient people were the ancestors of the American 
• Indians, or a race that became extinct, or one that fled 
southwest and settled in Mexico, will probably never 
be known. Most historians, however, now believe that 
the Mound Builders were the ancestors of the Ameri¬ 
can Indians, probably the Cherokees. But there are 
some reasons for believing that the Mound Builders 
may have been a superior race to that of the Indians. 

Uniform tradition existed among the Indian tribes 
concerning a vanished race which was superior to 
them, upon whom confederated northern tribes waged 
war until all were killed or driven off. Some tradi¬ 
tions report that these prehistoric people were white 
men, and that they had well cultivated fields, used 
metal tools and war implements, and possessed arts 
greatly superior to those of the Indian tribes. These 

1 The origin of the name Kentucky is not definitely known. The Iro¬ 
quois called it Kentake, meaning ‘ ‘ The place of Meadows. ’ ’ The 
Shawnees named it Kan-tuck-ee, ‘ 1 At the head of the River. ’ * The 
name Kentucky was first given to the stream that now bears that name 
and was afterwards applied also to the State by the Pioneers. The 
Indians often called this region “The Dark and Bloody Ground” be¬ 
cause it had been the scene of many battles and much bloodshed. 


6 


KENTUCKY 


stories, told by the Indians to the first settlers, had 
been handed down from father to son for many gen¬ 
erations, and must be regarded as mere tradition. 

There were but few Indian towns in Kentucky when 
it was first explored, and many chiefs expressed sur¬ 
prise at the white man’s settling “The Dark and 



Ancient Mound in Greenup County 


Bloody Ground,” which, according to their legends, 
witnessed the slaughter of a race, and over which 
they believed the spirits of the dead still brooded. 
Some have suggested, however, that these tales may 
have been told by the Indians to frighten the white 
men away from their favorite hunting ground. 

Another reason for believing that the Mound 
Builders may have been a race different from the Indi¬ 
ans is, that in many places in Kentucky and other 
states of the Mississippi Valley these primitive people 





















THE MOUND BUILDERS 7 

have left evidence of their existence in the form of 
mounds, fortifications, works of solid masonry, aban¬ 
doned mines and buried mining tools. The construc¬ 
tion of these mounds, their form, contents and loca¬ 
tion, show they were intended for burial places, 
temples, or fortresses. Like the structures of civil¬ 
ized nations, they were found in valleys or on fertile 
plains capable of supporting a dense population. 

One of the most interesting monuments left by these 
ancient people is Grave Creek Mound, located twelve 
miles below Wheeling, West Virginia, on the left bank 
of the Ohio River. It is on an elevated table-land and 
is some seventy feet high, nine hundred feet in cir¬ 
cumference, and equal in cubical contents to some of 
the pyramids of Egypt. A large tree growing on 
Grave Creek Mound in 1818 bore the date of 1734, and 
had several names carved on its bark. An excavation 
of this mound revealed rooms eight by twelve feet, and 
seven feet high. In one of them was found two human 
skeletons; on one of these no ornaments were found, 
but on the other were seven-liundred-fifty beads and 
an ivory ornament six inches long. In still another 
room was found a skeleton which had on copper rings, 
plates of mica, and many bone beads, besides numerous 
disks cut from shells. These things suggest that the 
rooms were the sepulchers of monarchs who were 
buried with a slave or some other person to accompany 
them to their ‘‘happy hunting grounds.” The build¬ 
ing of such a monument would have required thou¬ 
sands of men for many years, and suggests to us that 
some powerful monarch must have ruled these people 
and compelled them to labor. The Indians, as the 


8 


KENTUCKY 


settlers knew them, were lazy, wandering tribes who 
lived in wigwams and were not disposed to work. 
Neither were any of these tribes found building 
mounds or other permanent structures at the coming 
of the white man. 

“Monk’s Mound,” near East St. Louis, Illinois, is 
the largest known earthworks ever built up by human 
hands. For a time it was believed by many to be a 
natural formation, but recent excavations have shown 
it to have been erected by a prehistoric race. 

There are numerous mounds in Montgomery 
County, Kentucky, in and around Mount Sterling, 
which derived its name from this fact. “Little Moun¬ 
tain” was a mound situated within the present limits 
of this town. There is a group of ancient mounds six 
miles southeast of Mount Sterling, some of them three 
to five hundred feet in circumference. Numerous 
other ancient earthworks are found throughout the 
State, many of them so constructed as to indicate they 
were used as fortifications. One of the most wonder¬ 
ful of these fortresses is “Indian Fort Mountain” in 
Madison County. On top of this mountain these 
ancient people built a huge stone wall three hundred 
and eighty-seven feet long. Part of the wall is built 
on a steep cliff so that it is sixty feet high on its 
outer side. The nature of the large stones shows they 
must have been quarried in the valley and carried to 
the summit. Heaps of smaller stones for hurling on 
the enemy below are still to be seen. The top of the 
mountain is level and contains about four hundred 
acres. At all the places where the builders believed 
the enemy could approach their stronghold, walls were 


THE MOUND BUILDERS 


9 


erected. The size and strength of the fort would indi¬ 
cate that it served as a great rallying ground for its 
builders. 1 

That all mounds, of any considerable extent found 
in America, were located between the Appalachian and 
Rocky Mountains would further indicate that the 
ancient people residing in the Mississippi valley were 
different from those of other parts of North America. 
Many mounds and other forms of earthworks similar 
to those just described were found in Kentucky, which, 
according to Indian tradition, was the last rallying 
ground of a departed race. 

Who these people were, their manner of life and 
what became of them is sealed in the voiceless mystery 
of the past. We only know that a race superior to the 
Indians, as the white man found them in Kentucky, 
had lived, loved and vanished, leaving only mute traces 
of their tenure of a land that is now the seat of a great 
civilization. 

Prehistoric Animals.— The remains of the prehistoric 
elephant and the mammoth are also found in the State. 
Big Bone Lick in Boone County is noted as the grave¬ 
yard of these extinct animals. Many tusks eight to 
ten feet long, thigh bones four or five feet long, and 
enormous teeth weighing eight to nine pounds have 
been found. These ancient animals had come to the 
lick for salt; and, through the ages, many perished, 
leaving their numerous skeletons buried in the salt 
marsh as hideous reminders of their having lived, 
sported, and died many thousands of years before the 
coming of the white man. 

1 Young, “Prehistoric Men of Kentucky,” p. 75. 


10 


KENTUCKY 


QUESTIONS AND SUGGESTIONS. 

Who were the Mound Builders? What traditions existed among the 
Indians concerning them? What do historians think about them? De¬ 
scribe some of the mounds, fortifications and other works they have 
left. Can you account for the remains of the prehistoric animals? 


CHAPTER III 

THE INDIANS OF NORTH AMERICA 

The Indians of North America were divided into a 
number of great families, and each family was com¬ 
posed of different tribes. Among the tribes that 
claimed Kentucky as their hunting ground were the 
Chickasaws, Cherokees and Catawbas on the south; 
and the Shawnees, Wyandots and Delawares living 
north of the Ohio River. The various Indian families 
were generally alike in appearance, character, man¬ 
ners and customs. 

Many theories have been advanced concerning the 
origin of the Indian, but nothing is certainly known 
save that he had lived and roamed over the American 
continent for many thousands of years before the 
coming of the white man. The Indian resembles the 
Mongolian race, but differs from it or from any other 
people, sufficiently to be classed separately as one of 
the five races of men. He was a child of the forest— 
a wild animal—and yet a man. He was physically 
strong but mentally weak; yet he had acquired a cun¬ 
ning that made him the equal of the white man in bor¬ 
der warfare. He dwelt in the forest solitudes or upon 



Some Indian Relicts 

1. Flint knife. 2. Spearhead. 3. Arrowhead. 4. Leaf-shaped implement. 
Use unknown. 5. Flint tool, probably chisel. 6. Plummet. Probably used as 
an ornament. 7. Banner stone. Probably used in some ceremonial. 8. 
Drill or perforator. 9. Stone bowl or mortar. 10. Pipe. 11. Pelt scraper 
for dressing skins. 12. Pestle. 13. Flint spade. 14. Grooved ax. 15. Celt 
or grooveless ax. 


11 




12 


KENTUCKY 


the vast plains, and usually in villages. He lived 
mostly by hunting and fishing, and but poorly culti¬ 
vated a few food plants. Having very little grain 
and other foods to store, he was often overtaken by 
famine in his struggle for existence. He was tall, 
straight and athletic. His skin was dark red or cop¬ 
per colored. He had high cheek bones; small, dark, 
deep-set eyes; straight, black hair, and a scanty beard. 

Religion.— The Indian believed in a Great Spirit who 
ruled the world, and in numerous other spirits, of 
evil or good, that inhabited the air and water, the 
forests and fields, and even the animals and plants. 
His religion was not a joy to him but an ever present 
fear that some impending punishment would overtake 
him if he displeased the Great Spirit. He carried 
charms, repeated secret words or prayers to protect 
himself against evil spirits. He worshiped the sun, 
moon and stars, and the great forces of nature inspired 
him with awe and fear. He prayed for success in the 
chase and for victory over his enemies. He did not 
believe in a future punishment, but thought a happy 
hunting ground awaited him beyond the grave. So, 
when he died, his bow and arrows, his tomahawk, and 
sometimes his faithful dog were buried with him. He 
often fasted and tortured himself, not because of his 
sins, but to enlist the Great Spirit’s sympathy and 
aid. His code of honor governed his conduct only to¬ 
ward his own tribe and his friends, but it permitted 
him to steal from his enemies or even to murder them. 

Home Life.— His home life was scarcely above that of 
the animal. He was lazy, and lived in filthy huts and 
wigwams. His house was a rude structure usually 



THE INDIANS 


13 


built of poles and the skins of animals and could be 
easily moved from place to place. Here he slept and 
smoked, or sat at evening telling over and over the 
legends and myths of his tribe, or of his wonderful 
feats in war or the chase. Many of these legends of 
The Creation, of Hurakan (The Storm), Dawn, Light, 
and Darkness are truly poetic, and remind us of some 
of the myths of Ancient Greece. 1 Often a warrior 
would sit with a sad countenance for hours, his eyes 
bent to the ground, never uttering a word or giving 
any heed to those around him. Probably his super¬ 
stitious view of nature with its mysterious forces 
which he could not understand, set a seal of sadness 
upon his spirit. To him diseases were evil spirits 
which the “medicine men,” dressed in horrid dis¬ 
guises, endeavored to frighten away. 

Character and Dress.— The Indian home seems to have 
been a happy one. Family quarrels were rare. The 
warrior required his squaw to do most of the work, 
but this was her portion, while he procured the game 
and went to war, which was the chief occupation of 
his savage life. He was stoical, and was trained from 
childhood to endure pain, and to suffer from cold and 
hunger without complaint. He was fond of play and 
had many games, but in some of these there was a self- 
inflicted pain. Notwithstanding his gloomy spirit, he 
laughed much and was fond of music, but his music 
was not rhythmical nor artistic, but weird and mo¬ 
notonous. Perhaps, by nature, he was not cruel, but 
he was trained from childhood to be cruel; besides, his 

1 In “ Hiawatha,’ ’ Longfellow has preserved many of these myths. 
Read the poem. 


t 


14 


KENTUCKY 


life’s business was to kill—to kill in the chase, to kill 
on the warpath, to live by killing. Often he tortured 
his captive enemies with the most fiendish cruelty, and 
laughed and jeered at them in their agonies, but would 
sometimes sacrifice his own life for his friends. His 
clothing was scant, consisting mostly of the skins of 
animals, and often limited to a girdle and breech- 
cloth about the loins, moccasins for his feet, and a 
headdress of feathers. He was fond of ornaments, 
and decorated his body with crude paints, claws of 
birds and animals, strings of beads and bright colored 
shells. 

Government.—The sachem was the judge and admin¬ 
istrator of civil affairs, while the chiefs were chosen 
for military purposes on account of their courage or 
prowess as fighters. The office of the sachem was 
permanent, while that of the chief depended on his 
courage and cunning as a warrior. The chiefs were 
elected by the people, and even the wo^en were al¬ 
lowed to vote. There were few laws, and for the most 
part, each man was a law unto himself—a savage free¬ 
man. The Indian is still a creature of his environment 
—a wild man who seems bound to his primitive life, 
and slow to adopt the manners of civilization. His gov¬ 
ernment was a pure democracy, but very loosely or¬ 
ganized. Originally, there were about five hundred 
thousand Indians in North America, but there is prob¬ 
ably little more than half that number now. In wild 
life they were a hardy race, withstanding the rigor of 
the climate and many hardships. In the Great War 
they were good soldiers and many of them have be¬ 
come prominent in athletics, but unless the Indian 


THE INDIANS 


15 


abandons his savage ways and accepts the white man’s 
ideals and style of living, which will support a growing 
population, he is doomed to become extinct. The 
white man’s civilization has done for him just what 
his civilization did for the race of mound builders 
before him. 


QUESTIONS AND SUGGESTIONS. 

Name some of the Indian tribes that claimed Kentucky. Describe 
the appearance of the Indians. What were their chief occupations? 
Describe their religion, manners and customs. What can you say of 
the home life of the Indians? Describe their character and manner 
of dress. What sort of government did they have? 


PERIOD OF EXPLORATION AND 

SETTLEMENT 


CHAPTER IV 

EARLY EXPLORERS 

Since Columbus discovered America almost two cen¬ 
turies had passed before any white men visited Ken¬ 
tucky. Columbus had set out to reach the East Indies 
by sailing west around the world, and for nearly two 
hundred years many explorers still endeavored to find 
a passage by water to the Pacific Ocean. These ex¬ 
plorers did not know that America was a vast main¬ 
land separating the two great seas by an impassable 
barrier. This delusion had led to the discovery of 
America, and for several hundred years was an in¬ 
fluence in the exploration of the continent. It is not 
surprising, therefore, to know that at least two of 
the earliest explorers to see Kentucky were in search 
of this western passage to the East Indies. 

Robert de La Salle.—Of these, the first was Robert 
de La Salle, a Frenchman, who had migrated to 
Canada. Encouraged by tales told by the Indians of 
a stream that ran across the continent to the “Big 

Sea, ’ ’ about 1669 he entered the Allegheny River near 

16 


EARLY EXPLORERS 


17 


its source, passed down it into the Ohio, and down 
the Ohio as far as the present site of Louisville. “In 
making this journey,” says Colonel Reuben T. Dur- 
rett, “he was the first discoverer of Kentucky from 
the Big Sandy to the rapids of the Ohio, and was the 
first white man whose eyes looked eastward from the 
beautiful river to the Bluegrass Land which forms the 
Garden Spot of the State.” 1 

Captain Thomas Batts. —In 1671, Captain Thomas 
Batts, by the authority of Governor Berkeley of Vir¬ 
ginia, was sent out with a party in search of a water 
route which would lead to the Pacific Ocean. Whether 
this party actually entered the territory of Kentucky 
is not known, but they crossed the mountains and, 
probably, saw that region of the State which lies 
along the Big Sandy River. Thus the French and the 
English, the two great national rivals in the conquest 
of the New World, were the first to push their claims, 
by right of discovery, into the wilderness of Kentucky. 

In 1673, Colonel Abraham Wood of Virginia sent 
out a trading and exploring expedition among the 
Cherokee Indians. James Needham, the leader, was 
killed and a young man, Gabriel Arthur, was made a 
prisoner. Arthur became friendly with the Indians 
and accompanied them on many of their expeditions. 
On one of these, in 1674, he traveled with a party to a 
point near the northeastern part of Kentucky and 
possibly returned to the Cherokee village by the 
“Warrior’s Path” which passes north and south 
across the eastern end of the State. Through the in- 

1 More recent research shows that La Salle’s explorations probably 
did not extend to Kentucky. 



18 


KENTUCKY 


fluence of a friendly chief he returned to Colonel 
Wood in June, 1674, and gave an account of his thrill¬ 
ing experience and fortunate escape. Thus it ap¬ 
pears that Gabriel Arthur, a Virginian, may have been 
the first white man to set foot on Kentucky soil. 1 

During the next seventy years there was no organ¬ 
ized effort to explore the Western Wilderness, and, 
except for the chance wanderings of a few white men, 
it remained an unknown wild. Even the vague knowl¬ 
edge of this region, however, had caused the settlers 
east of the mountains to cast wistful glances toward 
the West. The people of Virginia suspected that some 
day this country would become valuable to them, and 
that the French would probably dispute their claims. 

Early Land Companies.— In her efforts to colonize 
America, England had issued land grants to her colo¬ 
nies. Following this plan, some of the leading citi¬ 
zens of Virginia organized land companies, the object 
of which was to buy up vast tracts of the western 
wilderness, and influence bands of settlers to occupy 
portions of them by issuing to them free grants of 
land. After the settlements had been made, the re¬ 
mainder of the land rose in value and was sold at a 
profit to later settlers. It was an old real-estate 
scheme for getting rich; a scheme which survives to 
this day. While it was selfish it has been one of the 
causes of the rapid development of all the territorial 
borders of our great country. Virginia encouraged 
the plan, for it promised the most successful means 
of developing her vast, western claims. 

1 Dr. Willard R. Jillson, “The Discovery of Kentucky .” See Regis¬ 
ter, Kentucky Historical Society, 1922, Vol. 20, No. 59. 


EARLY EXPLORERS 


19 


Among the most important of these companies, in 
the early development of Kentucky, were the “ Loyal 

Company” and the “Ohio Company.” 

* 

Loyal Company.— In March, 1750, the Loyal Company 
sent out Dr. Thomas Walker of Albemarle 
County, Virginia, who with five companions passed 



First House Buri/r in Kentucky 

This log cabin was erected on Swan Lake near Barbourville by Dr. Thomas 
Walker in 1750. Copy of an oil painting owned by J. A. Owen. 


through a gap in the mountains which they named, 
after the Duke of Cumberland, “Cumberland Gap.” 
Through this mountain pass they entered southeastern 
Kentucky, which had never been visited before by 
white men. They came to a stream which they named 
Cumberland River, descended it to the present site of 
Barbourville, Knox County, and selected a place for 


























20 


KENTUCKY 


settlement, cleared land and built a log house which is 
thought to have been the first house erected by white 
men in the State. Shortly after its completion, Dr. 
Walker and his party, frightened by roving bands of 
Indians, deserted their “settlement.” Walker’s party 
explored the region to the headwaters of the Kentucky 
River, killed many buffalo, elk, deer, bear, and other 
game, which they found in abundance; and after six 
month’s wandering in the wilderness they returned 
to Virginia. 

Ohio Company.— In October, 1750, the Ohio Com¬ 
pany sent out Christopher Gist, “to search out lands 
upon the river Ohio . . . down as low as the Falls 
thereof.” Following an Indian trail, Gist, accom¬ 
panied only by a negro servant, reached the Ohio, and 
after exploring some territory north of it, passed 
down the river to within fifteen miles of the Falls. 
Seeing numerous signs of hostile Indians, he wisely 
abandoned his plan to visit the Falls, and turned back 
to the Kentucky River. From the top of Pilot Knob, 
in what is now Powell County, he saw, as far as the 
eye could see, a stretch of wooded country marked here 
and there by winding streams that bathed fertile 
shores which were, as yet, only the hunting ground of 
savage tribes, and the scene of their bloody combats. 
Gist returned to his frontier abode on the Yadkin in 
the summer of 1751, after having seen parts of Ohio 
and some of the best lands of Kentucky. There were 
numerous other adventurers who probably explored 
and hunted in Kentucky at an early date. Among 
these were James McBride who passed down the Ohio 
about 1754, to the mouth of the Kentucky River and 


PIONEERS 


21 


probably explored part of this region. In 1767, John 
Finley and some companions passed through the 
mountain gaps and hunted in the State. They gave a 
glowing report of the Kentucky wilderness, and two 
years later Finley piloted Daniel Boone and his four 
companions into the territory. 


QUESTIONS AND SUGGESTIONS. 

How long was it after the discovery of America before Kentucky 
was settled? What led to the early exploration of Kentucky? Who 
were some of the first explorers? Name some of the early land com¬ 
panies and tell what effect they had on the exploration and settlement 
of Kentucky. What explorers were sent out by each of these companies? 


CHAPTER V 

VANGUARD OF THE PIONEERS 

The reports of Walker and Gist to their land com¬ 
panies give us the first glimpse of Kentucky “as it 
came from the hands of the Creator.” These reports, 
and those of some adventurous hunters who faced the 
hardships and dangers of the wilderness beyond the 
mountains, aroused the keen interest of the people of 
Virginia. Robert Dinwiddie, a member of the Ohio 
Company, became Governor of Virginia in 1752. In 
the interest of his country, and probably also through 
self-interest, he sought to hold all of the Allegheny 
Valley for Virginia, by right of her Charter in 1609. 
According to the vague provisions of this Charter, the 
Virginia territory was to reach “up into the land 
throughout from sea to sea west and northwest.” Gist 


22 


KENTUCKY 


had reported that the French were encroaching upon 
Virginia’s claims in the Ohio Valley. Accordingly, in 
the winter of 1753, Governor Dinwiddie selected 
George Washington, a young surveyor in the employ¬ 
ment of Lord Fairfax, to undertake a perilous trip 
through the wilderness, to treat with the Indian tribes, 
and to warn the Frenchmen not to trespass upon Eng¬ 
lish territory. Washington, who was only twenty-one 
years old, piloted by Gist and Half-King, a friendly 
Indian chief, after encountering many hardships and 
dangers, made the trip in safety. 

French and English Claims. —Washington found St. 
Pierre, the French Commandant, at a post near Lake 
Erie and was received kindly and with many polite 
bows. But in reply to Governor Dinwiddie’s protest 
St. Pierre said: “I am here by the orders of my Gen¬ 
eral, and I entreat you, sir, not to doubt one moment, 
but that I am determined to conform mvself to them 
with all the exactness and resolution that can be ex¬ 
pected from the best officer.” This defiant answer of 
the French meant war. The movements of both the 
French and the English to hold the Ohio Valley, of 
which Kentucky was a part, had now begun. The long 
struggle, known in Europe as The Seven Years’ War, 
and in America as The French and Indian War, fol¬ 
lowed. This conflict practically drove the French from 
American soil, and laid the foundation for a great 
English-speaking people in Kentucky and in other 
states that have been carved out of the Western Wil¬ 
derness. At the close of the French and Indian War, 
the Mississippi River became the acknowledged west¬ 
ern boundary of the English colonies. During this 


PIONEERS 


23 


war the land companies and pioneers had made little 
effort to settle Kentucky, but at its close, interest in 
the settlement of this region again revived. 

Proclamation of George III. —Following the treaty of 
Paris at the close of this war, in 1763, King George the 
Third of England, issued a proclamation which pro¬ 
vided that British possessions south of Canada and 
west of the Allegheny Mountains should be kept as 
an Indian Reservation, and should be exempt from 
settlement. This probably was done more because of 
the King’s fear of the growing power and independent 
spirit of the colonies than through any love and good 
will he bore the savages. By the King’s decree, two 
Indian agents were appointed to make the surveys 
and establish the boundaries between the colonies and 
the Indian reservation. Fortunately for Kentucky, 
Sir William Johnson, the agent for the Northern dis¬ 
trict, violated his instructions and ran his line down 
the Ohio River to the mouth of the Tennessee, and 
made the Tennessee the boundary line between the In¬ 
dian lands and the Kentucky territory. So it came 
about, that all that portion of the Kentucky territory 
lying east of the Tennessee River was thrown open for 
immediate settlement. This was one of the circum¬ 
stances that led to the earlier colonization of Kentucky 
which made it the “Pioneer State of the West,” and 
the fifteenth to be admitted into the Union. 

Following the French and Indian War, English colo¬ 
nies east of the Appalachian Mountains again turned 
their attention to exploring and settling the territory 
to the west. The French had been conquered, and the 
wilderness was untenanted except by scattered bands 


24 


KENTUCKY 


of Indians and French traders. The hour had struck 
for the forward movement of an Anglo-Saxon civiliza¬ 
tion in the West. As already related, the survey made 
under the proclamation of King George the Third did 
not apply to that portion of Kentucky lying east of the 
Tennessee River. Besides, the bordermen of the 
eastern colonies resented the King’s decree and doubt- 



Daniel Boone, and His 
Trusty Rifle and Powder 
Horn 


less would have settled Kentucky in spite of it, for 
they had already begun to think and act for themselves. 

Daniel Boone.— Pioneers, schooled in the hardships 
of border life, waited in the valleys of Virginia, 
Pennsylvania and the Carolinas for a leader—and the 
leader came, as it always happens in human emer¬ 
gencies. Daniel Boone, the “prince of pioneers,” was 
born in Pennsylvania about 1734, and while yet a boy, 
was brought with the rest of his family to the Yadkin 
Valley in North Carolina. He married while young, 
built a log hut, cleared land, did some blacksmithing 







PIONEERS 


25 


and a little farming. The call of the wild, however, 
unfitted him for a quiet home-life. Hunting and ex¬ 
ploring and the wild independent forest life were his 
greatest delights. He was tall, spare and sinewy, and 
seemed knitted together with muscles of steel. The 
most toilsome journeys did not tire him, and he en¬ 
dured the greatest hardships with apparent joy. He 
was quiet, thoughtful, patient and daring, and had the 
poise and self-reliance that carried him safely through 
many perils. Nature seemed to have combined in 
him those qualities that especially fitted him for the 
hazards of pioneer life. Boone had but little educa¬ 
tion but possessed a winning personality that made 
him a leader of men. For him, the stage was set in 
the wilderness of Kentucky, and how well he played 
his part will be seen as our story progresses. 

Boone had spent many years hunting in the forests 
and on the streams of western North Carolina, and 
had become famous as a hunter and backwoodsman. 
He was often absent from home for many weeks, ex¬ 
ploring and hunting alone in the trackless forests. It 
must have been during the lonely hours of these long 
journeys that he came to believe himself to be an in¬ 
strument “ordained of God to settle the wilder¬ 
ness, 7 ? and as he further says, “to wander through the 
Wilderness of America in quest of the country of 

Kentuckv. 77 
«/ 

In May, 1769, Boone, with a party of five other fear¬ 
less hunters, set out from their abode on the Yadkin 
River in North Carolina, on a hunting and exploring 
expedition in Kentucky. There are reasons to believe 
that Boone was also acting as agent to spy out the 


26 


KENTUCKY 

land for other settlers who were dreaming of new 
homes in Kentucky. “We proceeded successfully,” he 
says, “after a long and fatiguing journey through a 
mountainous wilderness, in a westward direction; on 
the seventh day of June following, we found ourselves 
on the Red River . . . and from the top of an emi¬ 
nence, saw with pleasure the beautiful level of Ken¬ 
tucky. ’ ’ 1 

Boone’s party moved their camp from place to place 
and for some time hunted unmolested. Finally Boone 
and John Stewart, one of the company, left the main 
camp to hunt on the Kentucky River and were cap¬ 
tured by Indians. After seven days of captivity they 
escaped in the night and returned to their camp to 
find it plundered and their companions gone, with 
nothing left to tell the tale of their fate. Left alone 
in the heart of the wilderness, in mid-winter, destitute 
of provisions, and with hut little powder, which they 
had taken from the Indians when they escaped, they 
still remained; “waiting for they knew not what, but 
happy in the beauty and midness of their surround¬ 
ings.” 

Becoming alarmed hv the long absence of his 
brother, Squire Boone left his home on the Yadkin, 
accompanied by a single companion, and went in 
search of him. Owing to the wonderful woodcraft of 
Squire Boone and his companion, they came upon 
Boone and Stewart in January, 1770. 

Death of Stewart.— Shortly after this, the party was 
again attacked by Indians and Stewart was killed. 

a Red River is a branch of the Kentucky River. Boone’s view was 
from some point near the junction of Clark, Powell and Estill Counties. 


Daniel Boone and Companions View the Beautiful Level of Kentucky 

From a mural painting in the State Capitol. 



27 





28 


KENTUCKY 


Squire Boone’s companion wandered from the camp 
and was lost or returned alone to his home. The two 
brothers were now left alone in the midst of many 
dangers with nothing but wild fruits, roots and nuts, 
and the game they killed, to live upon. Their supply 
of powder also was running low, and it became neces¬ 
sary for Squire Boone to return to the settlement for 
provisions and ammunition. Left alone, Daniel Boone 
says: “I confess I never before was under greater 
necessity of exercising philosophy and fortitude.” 
But his loneliness seems to have been brief, for he 
says further, ‘ ‘ Through an uninterrupted scene of syl¬ 
van pleasure I spent the time until the 27th day of 
July (1770) following, when my brother, to my great 
felicity, met me, according to appointment, at our old 
camp.” 

Warned by signs of hostile Indians, the two brothers 
turned southward, hunting and exploring along the 
Cumberland River, but returned north in March, 1771, 
and selected a site on the Kentucky River favorable 
for settlement. After an absence of two years, Boone 
says, “I returned to my family with a determination 
to bring them as soon as possible to live in Ken¬ 
tucky.” 1 Accordingly, he and his brother packed a 
load of peltries on the two horses that Squire Boone 
had brought with him, and returned to their families 
in the Yadkin Valiev, North Carolina. 

The Long Hunters.— While Boone was wandering 
alone in Kentucky, another party of forty hunters 
from Virginia, led by Colonel James Knox, were 

1 Quotations are from “Autobiography of Daniel Boone,” by John 
Filson. 














































THIRTEEN ORIGINAL S TATES 

IN 1783. 

New York claimed all the lands west of the/ Alleghany Mis. 

and North of the Ohio River belonging to the Six' Nations* 























PIONEERS 


29 


hunting and exploring in the State. They had dogs, 
traps and pack-horses, and each man a hunter’s 
equipment. They established a central camp in what 
is now Wayne County, near the Cumberland River. 
Then they separated into smaller parties that were to 
meet at the central camp once every five weeks to 
deposit their pelts and to plan future movements. But 
the lure of the forests broke up the expedition into 
small bands, each bent upon its own object. Colonel 
Knox, with nine of the most dauntless hunters, pushed 
deeper into the wilderness, hunting and exploring in 
what is now Green, Barren, Hart, and adjoining coun¬ 
ties. Some of these brave fellows disappeared forever 
in the forests, others were killed by Indians, hut many 
returned to their homes after an absence of two years. 
From the length of time these men were absent, they 
have been called “The Long Hunters.” 

The stories related by The Long Hunters concern¬ 
ing the abundance of game, the beauty and fertility 
of Kentucky, spread among the people along the bor¬ 
der and aroused the interest of many bold woodsmen. 
No immediate settlement was attempted, but the first 
step had been taken by the white man to people the 
wilderness. 


QUESTIONS AND SUGGESTIONS. 

Who was Robert Dinwiddie and what did he do to lay claim to 
Kentucky? By what right did Virginia claim Kentucky? (See oppo¬ 
site map.) What caused the breaking out of the French and Indian 
war in America? What was the result of the war? What proclama¬ 
tion was made by George III? Explain why the Kentucky territory 
was thrown open to settlement. Give a sketch of Daniel Boone. Give 
an account of his trips to Kentucky. Who were the “Long Hunters”? 


CHAPTER VI 

THE PIONEER AND HIS INDIAN FOE 


From 1771 to 1773 no attempt at the settlement of 
Kentucky was made, but the spirit of unrest and ad¬ 
venture among the border- 
men of the colonies was 
growing. Plans were being 
formed for the successful 
conquest and settlement of 
the State. 

While we wait on the 
forward movement of the 
backwoodsmen it is well to 
give a brief sketch of the 
hunter-pioneer, and of the 
savage foe he was about to 
meet and overcome in the 
wilderness. 

Character of the Pioneers. 

—The first hunters and 
settlers in Kentucky were 
chiefly bordermen of Vir¬ 
ginia, Pennsylvania, and 
North Carolina who had 
been schooled in the dan¬ 
gers and hardships of back- 
woods life. They differed 
in thoughts, habits, and 
30 



Winners of the West 

With his rifle and ax the hardy 
pioneer won the great West 










































INDIAN FOES 


31 


manner of life from those who lived along the coast 
and in the older and more densely settled communities. 
They were mostly Americans by birth, but of a mixed 
race, being chiefly of English and Scotch-Irish descent. 
They were backwoodsmen by choice and preferred the 
wild freedom of the border to the comforts and social 1 
restraints of towns and villages. “A lonely house in I 
the middle of a great farm was their ideal, and they j 
attained it even before it could be done with safety. ” 11 
They were law abiding but rebelled against that type 
of laws which limited their personal freedom. To 
their bold and adventurous spirit were added years 
of training in forest and mountain life, which de¬ 
veloped an original and self-reliant people. Their 
wild, free life unfitted them for regular soldiers, be¬ 
cause they were unused to obeying orders, but alone 
in the forest they were more than a match for their 
cunning savage foe. For the most part, they were 
large, robust and sinewy, strong-limbed and brave- 
hearted, and always ready for a challenge to physical 
endurance. They were a grim race with a grim pur¬ 
pose and yet fond of coarse pleasures. Beneath their 
moody exterior lay a spirit terrible in its intensity 
and even cruel when once aroused. Though many, of 
them were uneducated, they had that training which 
fitted them best for the task of subduing the wilderness 
with the ax, and driving back the savage with their 
trusty rifles. Though rough and uncouth, they were 
kind and generous, but when enraged by unprovoked 
Indian attacks • they sometimes adopted savage 
methods and even scalped their fallen foe. 

»/ 

1 Shaler, “Kentucky, A Pioneer Commonwealth,” p. 116. 


32 


KENTUCKY 


The dress of the pioneer was well adapted to the 
needs of his rugged forest life. He wore a hunting 
shirt, or loose frock, with cape made from dressed 
deer skins, and leggings and moccasins of the same 
material. Often the cap, shirt, and leggings were 
adorned with fringes. A strong leather belt encircled 
the body, from which was suspended an ax or toma¬ 
hawk, hunting knife, and bullet pouch and other neces¬ 
sary equipment. A leather thong about the neck and 
shoulder held the powder horn in its place at his side. 
Pouches for provisions, or other necessary articles, 
were made in the frock. A cap made from a coon 
skin or some coarse woven material covered the head. 
His long, heavy, and deadly rifle was borne upon his 
shoulder, or carried in his hand as the hazard of his 
position might require. Rugged, prudent, but fear¬ 
less, he slipped through the passes of the Allegheny 
Mountains, or floated down the Ohio to Kentucky, to 
meet a cunning and treacherous foe in a contest for 
supremacy. 

A Crafty Foe.— Few Indian villages were found in 
Kentucky, but it was claimed by many tribes as their 
hunting ground. 1 The Kentucky hunter and pioneer, 
therefore, were brought into conflict with the hunting 
and war parties of many tribes. These consisted of 
small bands which stole silently through the dark 
forest and dense canebrakes, or lay in ambush ready 
to fall upon the white man unawares. Often they would 
stalk the hunters or settlers, wait for a favorable op¬ 
portunity to attack, and seldom expose themselves to 

1 The last village, called Lower Town, situated south of Portsmouth, 
Ohio, was swept away by a flood prior to the settlement of the State. 



INDIAN FOES 


33 


danger. To meet such a foe, it became necessary for 
the white man to use Indian tactics, which many of 
them did, even more skillfully than their enemies. The 
Indian was brave and heroic, strong, fleet-footed, and 
cunning, but his ideas of warfare forbade his exposing 
himself in open fight or regular army order. When 
once engaged in battle, each warrior was his own of¬ 
ficer and soldier, and fought according to the tradi¬ 
tions of his tribe. If the tide of battle turned against 
him, he escaped into the forest. None but a hardy race 
of pioneers, schooled in Indian modes of warfare, could 
have defeated the Red Man on his own ground. 

The Indian’s dress and equipment were suited to 
a forest warfare. The color of his body, and such 
scant clothing as he wore, so blended with his sur¬ 
roundings as to make him almost invisible. With his 
tomahawk, bow and arrow, and rifles which he had 
purchased from white traders, he met the pioneer in 
the wilderness, to dispute further encroachment upon 
his favorite hunting ground. The story of the many 
cruel tragedies that finally drove the Indian from 
Kentucky, still farther toward the setting sun, would 
fill volumes. But the final defeat of the Indian was 
certain, as is always the case when the superior intelli¬ 
gence of the civilized man is pitted against the savage. 
That the Indian was often cruelly and unjustly treated, 
must be admitted. True, he was a savage, yet a fel¬ 
low human that deserved justice and mercy from his 
superior white brother. But he refused to keep his 
treaties, and to adopt civilized modes of living, conse¬ 
quently he became a victim of the destroying influence 
of the white man’s civilization. 


34 


KENTUCKY 


Result of the Conflict. —From the time the Anglo- 
Saxon first planted his feet upon the American con¬ 
tinent the land tenure of the Indian was doomed. The 
irresistible westward march of progress required the 
lands the Indians so sparsely tenanted, and which 
he fought so valiantly to hold under his savage sway. 
For unnumbered centuries his forefathers had ten¬ 
anted the forests and prairies of America and their 
graves hallowed the soil. By all the rights and tradi¬ 
tions of the savage and of civilized man, it was his own, 
his native land, yet it is not easy to see how he could 
have been permitted to retain his savage control 
against the needs of civilization. 


QUESTIONS AND SUGGESTIONS. 

Who were the first hunters and settlers in Kentucky? Where did 
they come from? Describe the character of these pioneers. Contrast 
the pioneer and his Indian Foe. What was the final result of the 
long conflict between the Indian and the white man? Question for 
class debate: Resolved: the Indian was unjustly treated by the 
white man. 


CHAPTER VII 

ATTEMPTED SETTLEMENT OF KENTUCKY 

BATTLE OF POINT PLEASANT 

As we have already seen, the border people of the 
eastern colonies had become excited by the reports of 
the beauty and fertility of the territory beyond the 
mountains, and many of them desired to establish 
homes there. It must be remembered that before and 
during the Revolution Virginia made her charter 
claims to lands far beyond the Alleghenies, which in¬ 
cluded what is now Kentucky; at the close of the Revo¬ 
lution, a still larger area in the Ohio Valley was 
claimed by right of conquest of the Northwest Ter¬ 
ritory. 

Attempted Settlement. —In September, 1773, Daniel 
Boone, with his own and five other families, set out 
from the Yadkin Valley, North Carolina, to settle in 
Kentucky. A company of forty other men joined 
the party on the way. They drove their hogs and 
cattle before them, and carried their baggage and pro¬ 
visions on pack-horses. When near Cumberland Gap 
they were suddenly attacked by Indians and six of 
the party were killed, among these was Boone’s son. 
The Indians, however, were driven off and the slain 
members of the party were buried where they had 
fallen. The settlers’ visions of happy homes in the 

wilderness, for the time, had vanished. The Boones 

35 


i 


36 


KENTUCKY 


and other fearless members of the party desired to 
push on, but finally were persuaded to return; some 
went to their own homes, and others to those of friends 
on the Clinch River. So great was the discouragement 
that no further effort was made at settlement during 
the year. 



An Improver’s Cabin 


Squatters and Surveyors.— With the coming of the 
spring of 1774 the hopes of the people revived, and 
numerous plans were made for colonizing Kentucky. 
Many adventurers bent upon securing land by the 
claims of “improvers’ cabins,” pushed across the 
mountains, squatted upon the land, and erected their 
shacks as evidence of “settlement,” and proof of 


























































ATTEMPTED SETTLEMENT 


37 


their claims. In May, 1773, Lord Dunmore, Governor 
of Virginia, sent out a party under Captain Thomas 
Bullitt, accompanied by James Harrod, to locate 
bounty lands for Virginia soldiers. Captain Bullitt 
left Fort Pitt and passed down the Ohio to the mouth 
of the Kanawha, where he met another party under the 
McAfee brothers, which in turn had been joined by 
Hancock Taylor. The numerous surveyors now com¬ 
ing to the State naturally excited the Indians, for 
they had observed that the surveyor was followed by 
the settler. At the mouth of the Kanawha Captain 
Bullitt separated from the others and went alone to 
visit the town of Chillicothe for a peaceful parley with 
the Indians. The red men were surprised when Bullitt 
suddenly appeared unannounced, but were greatly 
pleased with his friendly and flattering proposals. 
By the promise of many presents, he obtained their 
consent to a peaceful occupation of Kentucky. After 
an absence of thirteen days on this lonely and haz¬ 
ardous trip, Bullitt joined his men at Limestone Creek, 
which is now the site of Maysville. At this time, and 
later, came other surveyors; among them were James 
Douglas, John and Levi Todd, who were deputies act¬ 
ing under Colonel William Preston, the official sur¬ 
veyor of this District. These and other adventurous 
men were the forerunners of a coming tide of immi¬ 
grants. They were as spies searching through a 
goodly country, seeking the location of fertile lands 
and favorable sites for settlements. So great were 
the number of these that the Indians became alarmed 
at this encroachment upon their hunting grounds. 
Notwithstanding the land had been ceded to the white 


38 


KENTUCKY 


men by the chiefs at the Council at Fort Stanwix, six 
years before, the Indians still refused to forfeit their 
claims to it. So the Indian tribes called a grand coun¬ 
cil to make plans to drive back the white adventurers 
and surveyors who were laying off and occupying their 
favorite hunting ground. 

Dunmore’s War.—Governor Dunmore, foreseeing an 
Indian war, decided to send Daniel Boone to warn the 
settlers and surveyors of their danger. In June, 1774, 
in company with Michael Stoner, Boone started for the 
Falls of the Ohio. In sixty days he traveled eight 
hundred miles through the wilderness, and returned 
with a party of adventurers who had heeded his warn¬ 
ing. A few of the more daring remained and were 
killed or driven off by bands of savages. By this time, 
Governor Dunmore had called to arms a force of three 
thousand regulars and volunteers to meet the Indian 
invasion. Dunmore, as chief in command, assembled 
the main force at Fort Pitt, now Pittsburg. He ap¬ 
pointed Boone to take charge of three forts on the 
southwestern border. To the gallant Indian tighter, 
General Andrew Lewis, he gave the command of the 
left wing of his army, which was to meet the main body 
under Governor Dunmore at Point Pleasant, on the 
Ohio River. General Lewis led his army of eleven 
hundred hunters and Indian fighters across the moun¬ 
tains to the mouth of the Great Kanawha, where he 
camped, to await the arrival of Dunmore’s army. 

Battle of Point Pleasant. 1 —In the meantime, the fierce 
Shawnees, led by their great chief, Cornstalk, and 
aided by the Miamis, Delawares, Wyandots and other 
northern tribes, had burst like a storm upon the outly- 


ATTEMPTED SETTLEMENT 


39 


ing posts of Virginia, burning, pillaging, and murder¬ 
ing. Cornstalk was probably informed by his scouts 
of the movements of the armies of Dunmore and Lewis, 
and, therefore, resolved to attack before the two 
armies were united. On the early morning of October 
10, 1774, a small hunting party belonging to General 
Lewis ’ army suddenly came upon a large party of 
Indians and was fired upon and one man killed. The 
survivors fled to camp and gave the alarm. Instantly 
the drums beat to arms and in a short time a bloody 
battle began. At first, the Americans were driven 
back and two officers, Colonel Lewis and Colonel 
Flemming, were killed. Colonel Field, however, came 
to their rescue with a fresh regiment that, for a time, 
turned the tide of battle, but he too w r as slain. At this 
point, General Lewis sent Isaac Shelby and other 
officers with a company of men to attack the Indians 
in the rear. Shelby succeeded in gaining the rear of 
the savages, unobserved, and furiously attacked them. 
Thinking re-enforcements had arrived, the Indians 
withdrew across the Ohio, leaving the field in posses¬ 
sion of the white men. Cornstalk and his braves 
fought with the utmost courage, and did not yield the 
field until the late afternoon. This engagement, known 
as the battle of Point Pleasant, also called The Battle 
of the Great Kanawha, was one of the bloodiest of 
all the Indian wars. The Americans had seventeen 
officers killed or wmunded and about seventy-five men 
killed, and over one hundred wmunded. The Indian 
losses were probably not so heavy. Many men, after¬ 
wards notable in the pioneer history of Kentucky, 
took part in the battle; among these was Isaac Shelby, 


40 


KENTUCKY 


afterwards first governor of the State. (Governor 
Dunmore, in the meantime, had crossed the Ohio and 
carried the war into the enemy’s country. The In¬ 
dians were disheartened, and a treaty was made by 
which they surrendered all their claims to Kentucky; 
but like most of their treaties, it was not faithfully 
kept. However, the defeat of the Indians so humbled 
them, that for several years the Kentucky settlers 
were not troubled except by small war bands. By 
the time large, organized bodies were led against the 
pioneers they were strongly established in their rustic 
fortresses and were able to withstand the attacks. 
Governor Dunmore’s war made possible the settlement 
of Kentucky at a time when a guard on our Revolu¬ 
tionary frontier was greatly needed. 


QUESTIONS AND SUGGESTIONS. 

To what State did Kentucky belong during the Revolution? (See 
map, opposite page 29.) Give an account of attempted settlement 
of Kentucky. Name some of the first surveyors and squatters and 
tell what they did. What led to Lord Dunmore *s War? What was the 
result? Describe the battle of Point Pleasant. 


CHAPTER VIII 

THE FIRST SETTLEMENT OF KENTUCKY 

THE TRANSYLVANIA COMPANY 

First Permanent Settlement.—As early as June, 1774, 
Captain James Harrod and thirty companions began 
a settlement at Harrodstown, and still other settle¬ 
ments were started at Boiling Springs and St. Asaph’s, 
better known as Logan’s Station. When Boone and 
Stoner arrived the year before to warn these settlers 
against the Indians, they deserted their cabins but 
were among the first to return after the treaty with 
the Indians. Many of them had taken part in the 
bloody battle of Point Pleasant. They now returned, 
re-enforced by others who were eager to found homes 
in the wilderness. Harrod and his companions re-oc¬ 
cupied their village by March 15, 1775, after which 
it was never again completely abandoned. Thus Har¬ 
rodstown, now called Harrodsburg, became the first 
permanent settlement in Kentucky. James McAfee 
and a company of men had preceded Harrod’s com¬ 
pany four days, and re-established their claims at what 
was afterwards called McAfee’s Station, located just 
below Harrodsburg, on Salt River. The McAfee com¬ 
pany abandoned their settlement April 11, and started 
home to Virginia. It was some of these men whom 
Henderson’s company met, as related on a following 
page. The red men were spreading terror among the 

settlers, so that none but the more courageous dared 

41 


42 


KENTUCKY 


to remain. After the desertion of the McAfee Sta¬ 
tion, a few of these settlers remained at Harrodsburg 
to look after their land claims. Many roving, restless 
spirits who came to Kentucky for the novelty of ad¬ 
venture, or seeking great wealth, were unwilling to pay 
the price, hence, were quick to return to their homes 
upon the appearance of Indian attacks. The wilder¬ 
ness needed that sterner grit out of which great men 
are made and states are built. 

Western Fever.—The treaty made with the Indians 
after the Battle of Point Pleasant gave promise of a 
peaceful settlement of the much-coveted land of Ken¬ 
tucky. The Cherokees living south of the State still 
held a shadowy claim to it, which, as we shall see 
later, was also settled by treaty. Lord Dunmore’s 
War, for the time being, had reduced the dangers of 
navigation on the Ohio, and checked the attacks on the 
settlers of Kentucky. Had the head-strong young 
warriors kept the treaty, the story of the occupation 
of Kentucky would not have been such a bloody one. 
On their return home Lord Dunmore’s soldiers told 
many stories of the beautiful and fertile land of the 
wilderness country, so that the minds of many were 
tired with a desire to go over the mountains and 
possess the promised land. “Western fever,” for a 
time, became quite epidemic. The covetous eyes of 
the land shark, as well as those of the honest settler 
who desired to build a home in the wilderness, were 
alike turned toward the West. Many of these, as we 
shall see, met bitter disappointment, and some met 
tragic deaths in their efforts to found a home in 
Kentucky. 


FIRST SETTLEMENT 


43 


Proprietary Government.—As related in Chapter IV, 
many of the colonies of America had proprietary gov¬ 
ernors ; that is, men who had secured charter rights 
to take up large grants of land and induce people to 
settle upon them under their management. In this 
way they would become the governors of the colonies 
and by selling off the land in small tracts would become 
rich. Colonel Richard Henderson, a native of Vir¬ 
ginia, who at this time was living in North Carolina, 
organized a company for the purpose of taking up a 
large tract of the Kentucky territory and establishing 
over it a proprietary government. Henderson was an 
able but ambitious man, and had dreams of obtaining 
great wealth and power in the new country. The com¬ 
pany was composed of Henderson and eight associates, 
all of whom were able and worthy men, but were in¬ 
fluenced by a desire for wealth and power. The name 
“Transylvania,” meaning beyond the woods, was 
given to the settlement as well as to the company. 

Treaty of Sycamore Shoals.—As soon as the treaty was 
made with the Indian tribes north of the Ohio, follow¬ 
ing the Battle of Point Pleasant, Henderson arranged 
for a grand council of all the “Big Chiefs” and war¬ 
riors of the Cherokee Nation to meet at Sycamore 
Shoals on the Watauga River. About twelve hundred 
Indians met Henderson and his party, and after much 
feasting and high-sounding talk, a treaty was made 
March 17, 1775, giving to The Transylvania Company 
all the lands lying along and between the Ohio, Ken¬ 
tucky, and Cumberland Rivers. This vast tract of 
fertile land comprised most of the present state of 
Kentucky and a part of Tennessee. The Indians re- 


44 


KENTUCKY 


ceived 10,000 pounds in English money, which was 
paid, mainly, in pleasing articles of merchandise. 
Henderson, now believing that these Indian treaties 
would open the wilderness to peaceful settlement, at 
once sent Boone with twenty-nine other fearless, ax 
and rifle-bearing men to blaze a trail from the Holston 
River to the new possessions. Boone’s party was 
twice attacked by Indians before reaching their settle¬ 
ment, and four men were killed and several wounded. 
Sufficient time had not elapsed for these roving bands 
of savages to learn of the treaty that had just been 
made, otherwise Boone’s party might have escaped 
these attacks. However, Boone and his heroic band of 
pathfinders pressed on, opening through the forests 
a “ trace” that afterwards became the famous 
“Wilderness Road.” They reached the Kentucky 
River April 1, 1775, and began at once to build a fort 
which was afterwards named in honor of Boone, 
Boonesborough. Boone and his party found them¬ 
selves in constant danger from Indian attacks, and 
sent a messenger to Colonel Henderson urging him to 
“come or send as soon as possible,” and saying, “that 
now is the time to keep the country whilst we are in it.” 

In the meantime, Henderson and his associates had 
organized a company of about forty well-armed men 
with equipment for making a settlement. Their goods, 
provisions, and implements were carried over the 
rugged trail on pack-horses. On April 7, they met 
the runner sent by Boone to notify Henderson of the 
Indian attacks upon his party, and the next day they 
encountered a party of forty, panic-stricken men flee¬ 
ing from Kentucky on account of the attacks of the 


FIRST SETTLEMENT 


45 


savages. April 16, Henderson’s Company came upon 
the McAfee party of nineteen, most of whom were like¬ 
wise fleeing from the perils of the wilderness. Of these 
Henderson persuaded the McAfees and a few others to 
return with his company. Notwithstanding these evil 
omens and many dangers that hourly beset them, they 
seemed not to waver from their purpose but pressed 
rapidly forward under their dauntless leader. They 
arrived at Boonesborough on April 20, 1775, the day 
following the Battle of Lexington, which is memorable 
as the beginning of the Revolutionary War. Hender¬ 
son says of his reception, “We were saluted by a run¬ 
ning fire of about twenty-five guns, all that were then 
at the fort—men appeared in high spirits and much 
rejoiced at our arrival.” Thus were Boonesborough 
and Harrodsburg founded, and a strong Anglo-Saxon 
grip upon the West was tightened for all future time. 

The Transylvania Settlement.—The settlers reached 
Harrodsburg and Boonesborough at the high tide of 
spring, when the trees were in leaf, the wild flowers 
blooming, and the songs of many birds seemed to 
welcome them. Beautiful Kentucky had on her best 
gown to receive the pioneers. Their hopes were high, 
notwithstanding the many dangers that threatened 
them. Henderson’s party immediately set about build¬ 
ing a larger fort than the one Boone had begun. It 
was rectangular in shape, being about two hundred 
and fifty feet long and half as wide. The log cabins 
were arranged in straight rows along the outer line of 
the fort, and the spaces between them filled with heavy 
upright timbers set in the ground to form a stockade. 
At each corner, a two story block-house served as a 


46 


KENTUCKY 


bastion from which the fort could be successfully de¬ 
fended. The outer walls of the block-houses and the 
stockades were loop-holed to admit the guns of the 
defenders. There were heavy wooden gates with great 
bars to close them. The roofs were covered with rough 
boards held in place by poles which were bound with 
withes or fastened by wooden pins to the rafters. In 
time of danger, the cattle and other animals were kept 
in the open space inside the fort. The buildings were 
rough and strong, but not very comfortable. This, and 
similar rustic fortresses that were erected by the 
pioneers, made it possible to withstand the Indian at¬ 
tacks and settle the wilderness. Henderson at once 
set up a land office and began to survey and sell the 
lands to the settlers at thirteen and one-third cents 
an acre. 

Dunmore’s Proclamation.—Now the reader should re¬ 
member that The Transylvania Company had settled 
territory that was a part of Virginia, and that they 
had no claim to it except that based upon the purchase 
they had made from the Cherokees a few months be¬ 
fore at Sycamore Shoals. Governor Dunmore of Vir¬ 
ginia issued a proclamation denouncing 4 4 one Richard 
Henderson and other disorderly persons” because 
they had 4 4 set up a claim to lands of the crown within 
the limits of the colony.” This action of the Governor 
caused the settlers to resist the right of The Transyl¬ 
vania Company to sell the land, and to deny its power 
to make a good title to it. Henderson and Company, 
however, did not heed the Governor’s proclamation 
but proceeded with great diligence to establish a settle¬ 
ment and parcel out the land. 


FIRST SETTLEMENT 


47 


The First Legislative Assembly.—Still another ob¬ 
stacle stood in the way of The Transylvania 
Company. Other companies had preceded the Boones- 
borougli settlers by several weeks and had laid 
first claims upon some of the land. These claims 
conflicted with Henderson’s and became the source 
of much contention. The pioneers had been accus¬ 
tomed to take up land or abandon it at their own 
pleasure, therefore these first comers naturally re¬ 
sisted Henderson’s claims as an encroachment on a 
settler’s rights. A conflict of claims arose that 
brought about many disputes and much confusion in 
land titles. The other settlements near Boonesborough 
had been made without the consent of The Transyl¬ 
vania Company, and upon land purchased by Hender¬ 
son from the Cherokees. Henderson informed them 
that ‘ 1 such settlement should not entitle them to lands ’ ’ 
from his Company. However, these free squatters 
objected to his proprietorship, and said the land was 
a part of the territory of Virginia, and that it had 
not been ceded to The Transylvania Company by that 
State. Henderson realized the force of these claims, 
and knowing that Virginia had not recognized his 
right to the land, and desiring a peaceful settlement 
of the disputes, he called a meeting of delegates from 
each of the settlements, to convene at Boonesborough, 
May 23, 1775. 

Twelve delegates from Harrodsburg, Boiling 
Springs and Logan’s Station and six from Boones¬ 
borough were elected. This, the first legislative 
assembly to meet west of the mountains, very appro¬ 
priate to its wild surroundings, held its meeting 


48 


KENTUCKY 


under the spreading branches of a giant elm. Hen¬ 
derson endeavored to impress the assembly with the 
importance of his claims, and to convince the settlers 
of The Transylvania Company’s right to the land. 
A number of laws guaranteeing religious freedom 
and the general good of the pioneers were passed, 
but nothing was done to settle the disputed land 
claims. The assembly adjourned to meet again 
the following autumn; but the first and last legis¬ 
lative meeting of The Transylvania Company had been 
held. Proprietary government in the West and in all 
America was tottering to its fall. It had been im¬ 
ported from Europe and was too autocratic, by nature, 
to thrive upon the free soil of Kentucky. 


QUESTIONS AND SUGGESTIONS. 

Tell about the first permanent settlement of Kentucky. When, 
where and by whom was it made? How did the “Western fever” af¬ 
fect the settlement of the State? What is a Proprietary Government? 
Describe the Transylvania Company. What treaty was made at Syca¬ 
more Shoals? Describe the settlement made at Boonesborough. What 
proclamation was issued by Lord Dunmore? Describe the first legis¬ 
lative assembly ever held in Kentucky. 


CHAPTER IX 

FAILURE OF THE TRANSYLVANIA COMPANY 


Spirit of Independence.—The pioneers who had faced 
many perils and hardships to found homes in the 
wilderness were quick to resent the threatening 
dangers to a free government in the West. The 
struggle of the Thirteen Colonies against the mother 
country for self-government had begun, and the 
bordermen of these colonies, who were now settling 
Kentucky, were ardent advocates of the independence 
of the colonies. It was natural, therefore, for them 
to insist that a representative government be set up 
in Kentucky. 

The Transylvania Company was cotmposed of 
worthy and intelligent men who knew that their dream 
of wealth would not be realized if opposed by the 
settlers of Kentucky and 4he government of Virginia. 
The attitude of the mother state to The Transylvania 
Company, and the opposition to a proprietary form 
of government, had already caused many to abandon 
Boonesborough and join the other settlements. By 
June, 1775, the number in Boonesborough had de¬ 
creased to fifty, while the population of other stations 
was increasing rapidly. 

Conflict of Authority.—Zeal for independence had 
spread throughout the colonies, and the Continental 
Congress was sitting at Philadelphia. Henderson and 

Company addressed a memorial to this body, request- 

49 


50 


KENTUCKY 


ing “that Transylvania be added to the number of 
the United Colonies,” and expressing the earnest wish 
that the “Proprietors of Transylvania be considered 
by the Colonies as brothers engaged in the same great 
cause of liberty.” This message was properly re¬ 
ferred to the Virginia delegation because the territory 
in question was a part of Virginia’s domain. Patrick 
Henry and Thomas Jefferson both opposed the action 
of Congress upon the memorial on the ground that 
Kentucky was a part of Virginia, and, therefore, not 
under the control of The Continental Congress. In 
the meantime, eighty-four settlers who had entered 
land in the office of The Transylvania Company had 
drawn up another petition and addressed it to the Con¬ 
vention of Virginia. This memorial asked that the 
petitioners be taken under the protection of the Colony 
of Virginia, that the titles of their lands might be 
made secure, and that they might be protected from the 
taxes imposed by The Transylvania Company. 

The dangers to the settlers from Indians whom 
British agents had incited 4o war on the colonies in 
Kentucky, had also greatly increased. At this critical 
moment, George Rogers Clark, who was soon to play 
an active part in the history of the West, was sent 
as a delegate to Virginia from Kentucky. Clark knew 
that if Virginia would take steps to defend Kentucky 
against the Indians, it would serve as a notice to The 
Transylvania Company that the lands it had settled 
were still claimed by Virginia. Patrick Henry, who 
was then Governor of the State, listened with interest 
to Clark’s appeal but referred him to the State Coun¬ 
cil. The Council agreed to loan Clark five hundred 


THE TRANSYLVANIA COMPANY 


51 


pounds of powder if he would become personally re¬ 
sponsible for its value, if the House of Burgesses re¬ 
fused to pay for it. Clark indignantly returned the 
order for the powder, saying, “A country which is not 
worth defending is not worth claiming. ” He 
threatened to return to Kentucky and help organize it 
into an independent state. This threat caused the 
Council to recall him; it then gave him an order for 
the powder, to be delivered at Fort Pitt, and from 
thence to be sent to Kentucky. When the Virginia 
Assembly met the following autumn, Clark, ac¬ 
companied by Grabriel Jones, his fellow delegate, pro¬ 
ceeded to Williamsburg and presented his petition to 
the Assembly. By his tact and winning personality, 
in spite of the opposition of The Transylvania Com¬ 
pany, he won a victory for the Kentucky settlers. On 
December 7, 1776, the Virginia Assembly passed an 
act asserting the right of the State to all her western 
claims, known as Fincastle County, and divided this 
vast territory into three sections—Kentucky, Mont¬ 
gomery, and Washington Counties. This act sealed 
the fate of The Transylvania Company, and estab¬ 
lished the government of the Kentucky settlements 
under the rule of Virginia. 

Powder Obtained.—Urged on by British agents, the 
fierce northern tribes threatened the complete destruc¬ 
tion of the Kentucky settlements. The powder, which 
had been obtained from Virginia by Clark, was still at 
Pittsburg because the Ohio was closely guarded by 
numerous Indian war parties. Accompanied by seven 
fearless frontiersmen, Clark set out from Pittsburg 
with the precious cargo in a flatboat. After many ad- 


52 


KENTUCKY 


ventures they landed the powder near the present site 
of Maysville, and hid it in the woods until they could 
get help to convey it to the settlements. They pro¬ 
ceeded cautiously to McClelland's Station where Clark 
met Simon Kenton, who, as we shall see, played an im¬ 
portant part in the early history of our State. A body 




George Rogers Clark Simon Kenton 

“Washington of the West ” A Great Indian Fighter 

of men from McClelland's and other stations returned 
for the powder. They were waylaid by Indians and 
a number of them were killed; after receiving reen- 
forcements, they succeeded in returning with the much- 
needed powder, which was distributed among the de¬ 
fenders of the forts. 

Results of The Transylvania Company.—Henderson and 
Company, though influenced by greed for land and de¬ 
sire for power, had played an important part in the 
colonization of Kentucky. These men had opened the 







THE TRANSYLVANIA COMPANY 


53 


Wilderness Road, spent large sums of money to in¬ 
duce settlers to occupy their claims, established a 
fortified station and helped clear away the forests and 
drive hack the savages. They were brave and intel¬ 
ligent men, many of whom remained in Kentucky to 
help subdue the wilderness and establish our great 
State. Nor was Virginia unmindful of the service 
rendered by The Transylvania Company in the settle¬ 
ment of Kentucky; for, in 1778, her General Assembly 
passed an act granting to the Company 200,000 acres 
of fertile lands lying upon Green and Ohio Rivers, to 
compensate them for their losses. It also guaranteed 
the titles of all the lands entered by the settlers with 
The Transylvania Company. The reign of Pro¬ 
prietary government was over in America, and it was 
fitting that it should perish on the free soil of Ken¬ 
tucky, in the same year that saw the beginning of our 
struggle for national independence. 


QUESTIONS AND SUGGESTIONS. 

Why did the Kentucky settlers resist the authority of the Transyl¬ 
vania Company? What was the attitude of Virginia to the Tran¬ 
sylvania Company? What steps did George Rogers Clark take at this 
time? Why did he go to Virginia? How did the granting of poAvder 
to the Kentucky colony affect the authority of the Transylvania Com¬ 
pany? Notwithstanding the failure of Henderson and Company what 
good results followed the experiment? 


CHAPTER X 

PROGRESS IN THE SETTLEMENT OF KENTUCKY 


At last Kentucky was settled, but the white man’s 
hold upon the territory was not secure. There were 
many trials and dangers to be overcome before peace, 
plenty and safety could be established. The pioneers’ 
struggle for supremacy over the savage, and years of 
toil in clearing away the forest and erecting their cabin 
homes, lay before them. In the tierce struggle many 
gave up their lives and were buried in unmarked 
graves throughout the State. Those who survived 
waged a continuous battle against the wilderness and 
its inhabitants that we might enjoy the present com¬ 
forts and security of civic life. 

Early Laws.—At the meeting of The Transylvania 
Legislative Assembly, already mentioned, a number 
of laws were passed for the peace and security of the 
people. Among these were acts to regulate the militia, 
to punish criminals, prevent swearing and Sabbath¬ 
breaking, and to preserve the game. These back¬ 
woodsmen, living in a “typical state of nature,” found 
it necessary to organize for mutual help and defense. 
This necessity, as we shall see later, accounts for 
many manners and customs of pioneer days. Every 
able-bodied man was expected to bear arms, assist in 
erecting fortifications, and share in all the dangers and 
hardships of the community life. It was only through 
the banding together of the different settlements of 

54 


PROGRESS IN SETTLEMENT 55 

Kentucky for mutual defense against the savages that 
they survived. 

A small but continuous stream of immigrants was 
now flowing into Kentucky, and attacks from the 
prowling savages were becoming more numerous. By 
the spring of 1777, the Indians had become the open 
allies of the British. Tempted by the rich presents 
of Colonel Henry Hamilton, who was stationed at 
Detroit, their attacks on the Kentuckians became more 
numerous and daring. It was difficult to get food from 
the eastern settlements, and game around the stations 
had become scarce. Boone, Kenton, and other hunters 
were compelled to creep through the forests for many 
miles by night, secure their game and slip back into the 
forts after dark. Prowling Indians hung about the 
stations and fell upon the settlers without warning, 
killing or capturing many of them. 

Attack on Logan’s Station. —One morning in May, 
1777, St. Asaph’s, better known as Logan’s Station, 
was attacked by a- band of Shawnees. The Indians had 
concealed themselves in a canebrake nearby and fired 
upon the guards when they came out, killing one man 
and wounding two, one so badly that he could not reach 
the fort. The wounded man, Burr Harrison, lay in 
sight of his wife who was inside the fort. In a frenzy 
of grief, she besought the guards to rescue him before 
he was tomahawked by the Indians. Now there were 
only twelve men in the fort, and it seemed unwise to 
risk the loss of others for the sake of one who was 
probably fatally wounded. But Benjamin Logan, the 
big, brave-hearted Captain in command, called for 
volunteers to rescue Harrison. Only one man, John 


56 


KENTUCKY 


Martin, came forward. Logan and Martin threw open 
a gate of the fort and bounded toward the wounded 
man. A hot rifle Are from the savages met them, and 
Martin turned back; hut Logan dashed on alone, seized 
Harrison and bore him upon his shoulders into the 
fort amidst a hail of bullets. Such heroic actions tell 
more eloquently than words of the strong and yet 
sympathetic spirit of the pioneer. The Indians con¬ 
tinued the siege, ammunition in the fort was getting 
short, and the fort and its heroic defenders seemed 
doomed. Knowing that other nearby stations had 
neither powder nor bullets to spare, the daring Logan 
again came to the rescue. Mounting his best horse, 
and accompanied by two companions, he slipped 
through the Indian lines and struck out for the distant 
settlements on the Holston. The Wilderness Road be¬ 
ing watched by the savages, Logan was compelled to 
travel through the pathless forest, ford streams and 
scale the cliff-broken mountain spurs, sleeping wher¬ 
ever night overtook him. Behind him lay the besieged 
fort, its brave defenders and the beloved of his own 
household; before him the precious means for their 
relief, if only he were not too late. The hero won! 
In ten days Logan returned with the needed stores and 
a relief party, and the station was saved. 1 

Boonesborough Attacked. —During this year of grim 
terrors to the settlers, Simon Kenton made his head¬ 
quarters at Boonesborough, and spent most of his time 
spying upon the Indian camps and war parties, and 

1 The Holston settlements were in the extreme northwestern part of 
North Carolina, a distance of about two hundred miles from Logan’s 
Station. 


PROGRESS IN SETTLEMENT 


57 


warning the settlers of any approaching attack. 
Often, disguised as an Indian, he slipped through the 
forest like a spirit, haunting Indian trails or hovering 
about their villages beyond the Ohio. Once while 
Kenton was detained in Boonesborough, it was at¬ 
tacked by the red-skins without warning. There were 
only twenty-two riflemen in the fort. Most of the 
savages lay concealed, while a small decoy party tired 
on the fort and fled. Kenton, Boone, Todd and a ma¬ 
jority of the garrison rushed out in pursuit of the sav¬ 
ages. Suddenly they found themselves cut oft from 
the fort by a large band of Indians. Boone ordered 
his men to turn and dash for the fort. A hand-to-hand 
struggle followed. Boone, Isaac Hite, John Todd, 
Michael Stoner and other men prominent in Transyl¬ 
vania history were wounded. Boone had his leg 
broken by a bullet, and a big warrior was in the act of 
lifting his tomahawk to strike him, when Kenton, who 
had already killed two Indians, seeing Boone’s great 
peril, shot the Indian dead. Then raising Boone to 
his shoulders he carried him swiftly to the fort and 
returned to plunge again into the fight. After the 
gate was closed the Indians kept up the siege for three 
days before they retired. 1 

1 Simon Kenton was one of the most celebrated of the early pioneers. 
He was born in Virginia, April 13, 1755. His father was an Irishman 
and his mother of Scotch descent. His parents being poor, his educa¬ 
tion was neglected. In an unfortunate fight with a rival over a love 
affair his victim was left unconscious. Thinking he had slain his 
former friend, conscience stricken, he fled to the wilds of Kentucky. 
He changed his name to ‘ ‘ Simon Butler, ’ ’ which name he bore for 
eleven years, when, to his great joy, he learned that his rival still lived. 
Kenton was a big, kind-hearted man, strong in mind and body. His 
services in the settlement of Kentucky were hardly second to those of 
Daniel Boone. tf Collins ’ History of Kentucky, ” Vol. II, p. 442. 


58 


KENTUCKY 


‘ ‘ Onward like a mighty army 
Led by hopes of courage bred, 

Move the deer-skin coated settlers 
O’er the trails with life blood red. 

See the forests fall before them— 

Cabins rise beside the streams— 

Fields of maize and waving barley 
In the autumn sunlight gleam, 

Fast before their deadly rifles 
Flees the painted savage on 
And the ox-drawn car of Progress 
Seeks the way which they have gone. ’ ’ 

—C. E. Blevins, * 1 The Kentucky Pioneers. ’ ’ 


QUESTIONS AND SUGGESTIONS. 

What obstacles still stood in the way of Kentucky settlers? What 
were some of the early laws passed by the Transylvania Assembly? 
Describe the Indian attack on Logan’s Station. Describe the attack 
on Boonesborough. Sketch the life of Simon Kenton. 


CHAPTER XI 

EARLY ROADS 

Two Main Roads.— Kentucky was separated, for the 
most part, from Virginia by an impassable mountain 
barrier. To reach it, the pioneers were compelled to 
pass north around the spurs of the Allegheny Moun¬ 
tains and float down the Ohio River, or travel over¬ 
land through Cumberland Gap, at the southeastern ex¬ 
tremity of the State. Those living in Pennsylvania 
and northern Virginia usually embarked on the Ohio 
at Fort Pitt or Wheeling. They built heavy flat-bot¬ 
tomed boats in which to carrv their domestic animals 

*/ 

and fowls, provisions and tools, and other articles 
necessary in settling a new country. The fierce savage 
tribes living north of the Ohio River made this water¬ 
way very dangerous to navigation. The immigrants, 
however, were generally composed of well-armed 
parties that were able to drive off the Indians. The 
road that led through Cumberland Gap was a longer 
but safer route for most of the settlers, consequently, 
it became the more popular way, especially for the 
smaller groups. Gradually, as the savages were driven 
back, the Ohio became a safer and more popular route 
to Kentucky. Besides being shorter, it was not so toil¬ 
some as the long wilderness way. The heavy barges 
furnished easy transportation of supplies needed by 
the rapidly increasing population of the State. Before 

the treaty which was made with the Indians at Syca- 

59 


60 KENTUCKY 


more Shoals, no road had been opened to Kentucky, 
though Boone and other explorers and hunters had 
found their way over Cumberland Gap through a 
tangle of brush and canebrake into the State. As re¬ 
lated in a previous chapter, The Transylvania Com- 



Map of Pioneer Roads 


pany, realizing the need of a road to their new posses¬ 
sions, employed Daniel Boone to blaze a trail across 
the mountains to Kentucky. 1 These pathfinders 

1 From a fort called “The Blockhouse, ’ ’ located on the Watauga 
River in North Carolina, to Boonesborough, The Wilderness Road 
passed over about two hundred miles of rugged forest-covered hills 
and mountains. The “trail,” as marked by Boone, led from the 
Watauga River in East Tennessee to Moccasin Gap near Gate City, 
and extended along the old trail to Powell’s Valley, and passed down 








EARLY ROADS 


61 


pushed their way westward through canebrakes, dead 
brush, and undergrowth, chopping and clearing a way 
for the stream of immigrants which was soon to follow. 
In the open timber, their progress was more rapid. 
As they wound through the woods they blazed the 
trees along the way with their axes and tomahawks to 
leave a trace for others to follow. In a fortnight they 
reached the Kentucky River and came out on the open 
stretches of land that is now the Blue Grass Section of 
the State. Mr. Walker, a member of the party, says 
in his diary, “So rich a soil we had never seen before, 
covered with clover in full bloom, while the woods 
abounded in wild game. It appeared that nature, in 
her profusion, had spread a feast for all that lived, 
both for the animal and rational world. ” The real 
invasion of Kentucky began with the opening of The 
Wilderness Road, for in all ages, roads have been the 
highways of civilization. It opened the way for the 
forward movement of the eager pioneers, and each 
group of them that passed that way widened, 
straightened, and improved the road as time went on. 

Near Rockcastle River, the road branched, the main 
line following the “Warrior’s Path” on to Boones- 
borough; while the western branch led by Crab Or¬ 
chard, Danville, and on to Louisville. Later, a trail, 
known as the “Cumberland Trace,” was opened from 

this to Cumberland Gap. Thence Boone followed the “ Warrior’s Path” 
across a ford of the Cumberland just below Pineville Gap, thence down 
the Cumberland to Plat Lick. Here he took the old Buffalo Trail 
which led to Hazel Patch, near Rockcastle River, thence up around 
Stone Creek to Boone’s Gap, two miles southeast of Berea, and on to 
Otter Creek and Kentucky River, where he built Boonesborough. See 
map, p. 60. 


62 KENTUCKY 

Crab Orchard, in Lincoln County, and ran in a south¬ 
western direction on to Nashville. This “trace” con¬ 
nected with The Wilderness Road, and passed near 

Greensburg, on south of Bowling Green, thence through 
Simpson County, into Tennessee. It too, became a 
path much traveled by the early settlers of southern 
Kentucky, and Nashville, Tennessee. These roads 
were mere bridle-paths that wandered with the rivers 
and valleys, and crossed the streams at fords; yet, how 
important they were in leading the settler through 
the uncharted wilderness! 

The Wilderness Road ran through the high-swung 
gateway of Cumberland Gap, and soon became a pop¬ 
ular passway between the rugged foothills of the East 
and the dismal forests and pleasant valleys and plains 
of the West. Through this gap, which is 1,600 feet 
above the sea level, passed the first white men who 
led the way into the valleys of Kentucky and Tennes¬ 
see. By its grim crags passed the “Long Hunters,” 
and the first explorers and settlers. Over the path 
trod by these bands of fearless women and men, now 
flow, back and forth, hosts of civilized people, and the 
wealth of the East and West. As Mr. James Lane 
Allen says, it has witnessed “the wild rush and whoop 
of retreating and pursuing tribes; the slow steps of 
watchful pioneers; the wail of dying children and the 
songs of homeless women; the muffled tread of routed 
and broken armies—all the sounds of surprise and de¬ 
light, victory and defeat, hunger and pain, and weari¬ 
ness and despair that the human heart can utter.” 

The Influence of the Wilderness Road.—The Wilder¬ 
ness Road became the key to a vast territory, and had 


EARLY ROADS 


63 



Cumberland River and the Wilderness Road. 


a far-reaching influence in bringing the wild-land em¬ 
pire of the entire West into our present Union of 







64 


KENTUCKY 


States. With a grim purpose, and with their faces 
forever set westward, bands of heroic women and 
men passed through this mountain gap and over this 
highway into the heart of a new country. Two human 
tides, even in these early years, had begun to flow 
hack and forth over The Wilderness Road. The out¬ 
going settler would often meet the faint-hearted and 
unfit fleeing from the dangers of Indian attacks, and 
the hardships of pioneer life. Only the stout-hearted 
could take root and flourish amid so many perils. 
Hundreds, who dreamed of wealth and peaceful homes 
in Kentucky, saw their hopes vanish in the smoke of 
Indian guns. A grim sort of fate seemed to be cull¬ 
ing the fit from the unfit and planting the former in 
the wilderness for a wise purpose. The future welfare 
of our nation was hanging upon the westward march of 
the pioneer, and The Wilderness Road was not opened 
a day too soon. The pioneer rushed upon the wilder¬ 
ness in his mad greed for land. He did not dream that 
he was about to become the guard at the back door of 
the colonies of the East, while the War of Inde¬ 
pendence was being fought; nor did he dream that, 
through his efforts, the great Northwest would be 
peopled by the white man, and held for the needs of 
our great Government that was about to be established. 


QUESTIONS AND SUGGESTIONS. 

What natural barriers separated Kentucky from Virginia? How 
did the settlers reach Kentucky? Describe the Wilderness Road. Trace 
it on the map, page 60. What part did it play in the settlement of 
the West? Locate Cumberland Gap. What class of settlers survived 
in the wilderness? 


CHAPTER XII 
PERILOUS DAYS 


In 1775, Daniel Boone, Hugh McGary, Richard 
Hogan, Thomas Denton, John McClelland, and others 
brought their families into Kentucky. With the com¬ 
ing of the families true home-life began; and the in¬ 
spiring presence of women and children tightened the 
hold of the pioneers upon the wilderness, and made 
them defenders of real homes and firesides. The heroic 
deeds and the noble sacrifices of the pioneer women 
who stood side by side with the men have never been 
surpassed in history or fiction. Their example should 
inspire every Kentucky girl and boy with a zeal to 
be worthy descendants of such a race of heroines. 

A Spartan Band.—While the patriots of the Revolu¬ 
tion were battling against British hosts for national 
liberty, there was a no less heroic band of men in Ken¬ 
tucky hurling back the savage attacks on the new settle¬ 
ments. Daniel Boone, Richard Callaway, John Floyd, 
John Todd, Benjamin Logan, and many other brave 
and tireless leaders, with stout hearts and deadly rifles, 
stood at the forest passes or behind the rustic for¬ 
tresses fighting a cunning and merciless foe that crept 
through the dark forests like a foul breath to fall 
upon the settlers like a scourge. The numerous at¬ 
tacks during these early years were serious and dis¬ 
tressing and were unfavorable to the growth of the 

65 - 


66 KENTUCKY 

settlements, but they failed to loosen the pioneers* grip 
on the wilderness. 

Perils and Romance.—But sometimes romance and 
even comedy were mingled with the many tragedies 
that tried the pioneers’ souls. One warm Sunday 
afternoon in July, 1776, three girls, Betsey and Fanny 
Callaway, daughters of Colonel Callaway, and Jemima 



C op yri g h t ed, K eys t o n e. 

Indians Capture Three Girls 


Boone, daughter of Colonel Daniel Boone, were out 
boating on the Kentucky River near Boonesborough, 
when five Indians rushed from cover and dragged the 
canoe from shallow water to the shore and captured 
the girls. Betsey Callaway was only sixteen years old, 
and the other two only fourteen, but in spite of their 
frantic efforts to escape, they were overpowered and 
dragged away into captivity. The fathers of the girls 





PERILOUS DAYS 67 

were absent from home at the time but soon returned. 
Two rescuing parties were organized at once, one to go 
on foot, and the other mounted. Among those who 
accompanied Boone’s party on foot were three young 
lovers of the girls, Samuel Henderson, Captain John 
Holder, and Flanders Callaway. The party followed 
the trail of the Indians until dark, and took it up again 
at dawn. In spite of the Indians ’ threats to tomahawk 
her, Betsey Callaway broke twigs, left prints of her 
shoe heels, and bits of her dress along the way as signs 
for the rescuing party to follow. Fearing the girls 
would grow weary and be put to death before being 
rescued, the pursuing party took fresh courage at 
every sign of life the girls had left. Early in the morn¬ 
ing of the third day, Boone and his party came upon 
the Indians in camp. To prevent their tomahawking 
the prisoners, four of the men fired on the Indians, 
then all rushed upon the camp. Those of the Indians 
who were not killed or wounded, fled, and only one 
lived to reach home. A glad father and three happy 
lovers greeted the weary but now happy girls. It is 
easy to believe that the three pairs of lovers, Samuel 
Henderson and Betsey Callaway, Captain Holder and 
Fanny Callaway, and Flanders Callaway and Jemima 
Boone were the happiest members of the party that re¬ 
turned to Boonesborough. The first wedding in Ken¬ 
tucky took place three weeks later when Squire Boone 
united Betsey Callaway and Samuel Henderson in 
marriage. Later still, each of the other Romeos 
claimed his Juliet at the altar of marriage. 

Boone and the Salt Makers Captured.—In February, 
1778, Boone and a party of thirty men were encamped 


68 


KENTUCKY 


at Blue Licks on the Licking River for the purpose of 
making salt for the settlers. While out hunting Boone 
was captured by a band of a hundred or more Indians, 
who, he learned, were on their way to attack Boones- 
borough. Knowing the fort could not hold out in its 
weakened condition against so large a body, he agreed 
to lead his captors to his camp on a promise that they 
would spare the lives of his men. Boone was confident 
that the Indians would return at once to Detroit to 
claim the reward for their prisoners from the British, 
and he would thus prevent an attack on Boones- 
borough. As he approached the camp he gave notice 
to his men of the situation and advised them not to 
resist. Twenty-seven men surrendered, three having 
gone to Boonesborough to carry salt. The Indians 
kept their promise of “generous usage” which they 
had made to Boone, and conducted the prisoners to 
Chillicothe, and later to Detroit to receive their re¬ 
ward. Governor Hamilton treated the prisoners, 
whom the Indians released, kindly, and offered a large 
reward for Boone. But the Indians had become at¬ 
tached to him, and their chief resolved to adopt him 
as his son. Accordingly they returned with Boone to 
Chillicothe where he was adopted according to their 
customs. 1 Boone submitted to the wishes of the In¬ 
dians with apparent pleasure in order to win their 

1 Adoption into a tribe was considered a great compliment by Indians, 
though it was painful and humiliating to the white man. The hair was 
plucked out except a ‘ ‘ scalp lock ’ ’ which was left long, and it was 
adorned with trinkets and feathers. The victim was then thoroughly 
washed by the women to ‘ 1 take out all his white blood. ’ ’ Then he was 
addressed by the chief to impress him with the great honor that had 
been shown him. After this, he was painted and decorated in Indian 
fashion, then feasting and smoking in his honor followed. 


PERILOUS DAYS 


69 


confidence. He says, “I was exceedingly familiar 
and friendly with them, always appearing as cheerful 
and satisfied as possible.” 

Boone’s Escape.—All the while, Boone was planning 
to escape and was secretly saving powder and bullets 
for the day of his departure. In June, over four 
months after his capture, about four hundred and fifty 
warriors painted and armed, gathered for an expedi¬ 
tion against Boonesborough. The time for Boone to 
escape had now arrived. Before sunrise, June 15, he 
slipped quietly away, and in four days reached Boones¬ 
borough, a distance of one hundred and sixty miles, 
and warned the settlers. He had risked his life in mak¬ 
ing his escape and had eaten hut one meal during the 
long journey. 1 Boone’s escape caused the Indians to 
delay their attack, bqt the settlers set about 
strengthening their fortifications immediately upon his 
arrival. 

Siege of Boonesborough.—On August 8, 1778, over 
four hundred savages, painted in the hideous colors, 
and wearing the horrid apparel of savage warfare, and 
bearing the flag of His Britannic Majesty, appeared 
before Boonesborough. They were led by the French 
Canadian, Captain Duquesne (De Quindre), and the 
great chief, Blackfish, who demanded the surrender of 

1 Upon his return, Boone was mistrusted by some of the pioneers be¬ 
cause he had surrendered his men to the Indians. Stephen Hancock, 
one of the prisoners, had escaped and returned to Boonesborough. He 
reported that Boone was friendly to the British and offered his services 
to them against the Americans. Boone was tried for treason but ac¬ 
quitted on the plea that he had made friendly promises in order to 
escape, and that he had returned to aid them in the defense of Boones¬ 
borough. Certain it is, that while he was wily, and possibly deceitful 
to the enemy, he was faithful to his friends and loyal to his country. 


70 


KENTUCKY 


Boonesborougli in the name of King George III. 
Here again the wily Boone came forward and asked 
for time to consider the terms of surrender offered by 
the enemy. Strange to say, two days were granted. 



Boonesborough. 

The inward sloping roofs of the cabins gave greater protection to the settlers 

in time of a siege 


These were spent in strengthening the fort, bringing 
in water, and gathering in the cattle and horses. At 
the end of this time Boone tauntingly thanked the 
enemy for giving him a chance to prepare for the at¬ 
tack, and assured them they were now ready to defend 
the fort as long as a man remained. There were less 
than fifty riflemen in the fort, but in order to make 





















PERILOUS DAYS 


71 


their forces appear larger, Colonel Richard Callaway 
caused the women to dress in male attire, and to ap¬ 
pear upon the walls of the fort with the men. Con¬ 
cealing their disappointment and anger at Boone’s re¬ 
fusal to surrender the fort, the Indians asked that 
about nine men be sent out to make a friendly treaty 
with them, after which they promised they would de¬ 
part. The defenders, though suspecting treachery, 
agreed to this and sent out Boone, Callaway, and 
others to make treaty, but Callaway instructed the 
guards in the fort to be ready with their guns to 
tire on the enemy if they attempted violence. After 
agreeing to a treaty, the Indians asked that two of 
their warriors be permitted to shake hands with each 
of the white men to prove their friendship and sin¬ 
cerity. Thereupon two Indians attempted to seize the 
hands of each white man, but the watchful pioneers, 
suspecting treachery, broke away and escaped into the 
fort while the defenders fired on the deceitful foe from 
behind the stockade. The siege now began in earnest 
and lasted for nine days. Many attempts were made 
to burn the fort but recent rains had soaked the tim¬ 
bers and the fires were easily put out. Duquesne at¬ 
tempted to undermine the' fort by digging a tunnel 
from the river bank into the stockade, but this also 
was discovered and prevented. Foiled in all their at¬ 
tempts, the Indians withdrew after having lost several 
killed and wounded, and Boonesborough was never 
again attacked. Only two of the settlers had been 
killed and four wounded; the wily savages had been 
defeated, but the siege had tested the courage of the 
stoutest hearts. 


72 


KENTUCKY 


QUESTIONS AND SUGGESTIONS. 

Who first brought their families to Kentucky? Name the principal 
pioneer heroes. Tell the story of the capture of the three girls. Tell 
the story of the capture of Boone and the salt makers. Describe 
Boone’s adoption and escape. Describe the siege of Boonesborough. 


CHAPTER XIII 

CLARK PLANS AN EXPEDITION AGAINST 
THE BRITISH AND INDIANS 

A Bold Plan.—George Rogers Clark remained in 
Kentucky most of the year of 1777, taking part in the 
defense of the settlements. But he was a far-sighted 
man of energy and action. All the while he was re¬ 
volving in his mind a scheme for carrying the war 
into the Indian country north of the Ohio. Since the 
breaking out of the Revolution, larger Indian war- 
parties, often led by white men in the employment of 
the British, had attacked the Kentucky settlements. 
Many small “expeditions” that had served but little 
purpose except to provoke the Indian to further 
cruelties, had been made into the red man’s land. 
With the mental sweep of a military genius, Clark 
saw that a successful campaign against the Illinois 
country would dishearten the Indians, and break the 
power of the British in the West. It was a bold 
scheme, for the country beyond the Ohio was the seat 
of powerful and warlike nations that were well-armed 
by British agents, and often led by skillful white 
officers. 



CLARK PLANS AN EXPEDITION 


73 


Clark Sends Spies.—Clark now sent two shrewd young 
hunters as spies to the neighborhood of Vincennes, 
but did not breathe a word to them or any one else of 
his object. The spies brought back word that while 
some of the young men were in the service of the Eng¬ 
lish, most of the French people were lukewarm in their 
allegiance to the British flag, and that many of them 
were friendly to the American cause. 1 The further 
report of the spies confirmed Clark’s suspicions that 
many of the attacks made upon the Kentucky settle¬ 
ments had been encouraged by the British. He be¬ 
lieved that, if given an opportunity, these French¬ 
men would aid the Americans in a campaign against 
the British and Indians in the Illinois country. 2 

Clark Goes to Virginia.—Convinced that the safety of 
the Kentucky settlement could be secured only by a 
successful campaign against the British and Indians 
in the Northwest, Clark resolved to set out at once for 
Virginia to secure aid for his enterprise. He left 
Harrodsburg in October, 1777, over The Wilderness 
Road, in company with a large party of men, women 
and children, who, disheartened by Indian attacks, 
were returning to the Eastern settlements. Upon his 
arrival at Williamsburg, Virginia, he laid his plans 
before Governor Patrick Henry and asked for men, 
money, and arms to carry out his scheme. Governor 

1 The student should remember that the French had established a 
number of trading posts and settlements in this territory, which came 
under the dominion of the British at the close of the French and Indian 
War. While these French people, also called Creoles, were subjects of 
the British Crown, they bore no love for their conquerors. 

2 It must be remembered that the “Illinois Country” included what 
are now the great states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan and 
Wisconsin. 


74 


KENTUCKY 


Henry called into council Thomas Jefferson, George 
Mason and George Wythe, prominent statesmen, who, 
after listening to Clark’s plans, recommended that the 
Virginia Council take steps, “with as little delay and 
as much secrecy as possible” to carry them out. In 
order that information of the intended expedition 
might not reach the British, great secrecy was neces¬ 
sary. Two sets of instructions were given to Clark; 
one private, which authorized him to make the cam¬ 
paign, and the other a public order to raise and 
equip an army for the campaign against the Illinois 
towns. 

A Small Army Is Assembled.—Clark at once set about 
enlisting and equipping an army, which he found a 
very difficult task. After four months of earnest toil 
he succeeded in getting together and equipping about 
one hundred and fifty men, who assembled at Red¬ 
stone, now Brownsville, Pennsylvania, on the Mo- 
nongahela River. They left Redstone in May, 1778, 
passed down the Ohio, stopping at Fort Pitt and 
Wheeling, to get army supplies. The heroic little 
band was accompanied by a number of adventurers 
and settlers with their families. Clark landed at the 
mouth of the Kentucky River, along which many of 
the settlers proceeded to the interior of the State. 
He reached the Falls on May 27, where the rest of 
the immigrants that were with him founded a settle¬ 
ment on an island, and raised a crop of corn, from 
which the island was called Corn Island. 

Louisville Settled.—These settlers moved to the main¬ 
land in the autumn at the present site of Louisville. 
Clark, called “The Hannibal of the West,” may 


CLARK PLANS AN EXPEDITION 


75 


rightly be considered the founder of the present 
metropolis of Kentucky. The town, however, had been 
laid oft by Captain Thomas Bullitt in 1773. In 1780, 
this settlement was named Louisville in honor of the 
French king, who had recently become our ally. At the 
Falls, Clark received the pleasing news of America’s 
alliance with France, which he believed would help to 
win the French inhabitants of the Illinois posts to his 
cause. 1 A number of volunteers had joined Clark’s 
party on the way, and about twelve men from the 
Holston country came over The Wilderness Road to 
meet him at the Falls. Here his expedition was joined 
by Simon Kenton and a few other Kentucky volun¬ 
teers. The principal officers in command under Clark 
were Captains William Lynn, Joseph Montgomery, 

1 The messenger who probably brought the news of the alliance to 
Clark was Captain William Lynn. At least, it is known that he over¬ 
took and joined Clark’s expedition before it left the Falls for Kaskaskia. 
Lynn w T as appointed by Governor Henry in 1776 to secure a cargo of 
powder in New Orleans for the defense of the frontier. In spite of the 
watchfulness of British agents, Lynn obtained ten thousand pounds 
and with a crew of brave men succeeded in boating the powder up the 
Mississippi and Ohio to Wheeling and other frontier posts. The party 
was in constant danger of surprise by Indians, while hunger and a 
treacherous river added to their peril. They were sometimes compelled 
to land and hunt for game to prevent starvation. The heroic band 
poled, towed and rowed their precious cargo against a mighty current 
for eighteen hundred miles. They were the first white men to make 
the trip with a cargo, and it is easy to believe their heroic deed saved 
the frontier posts and greatly aided in the War of Independence. Cap¬ 
tain Lynn was second in command in the Clark expedition and took an 
active part in many important affairs with the British and Indians. 
After the capture of Kaskaskia, Clark sent him back to the Falls to 
remove the stores from Corn Island to the shore, and to erect cabins 
and a stockade where Louisville now stands. In 1781 he was shot from 
ambush by Indians. Lynn’s name stands on the roll of heroes who 
served their country well in time of need. (See ‘‘Captain William 
Lynn,’’ by George W. Beattie, Filson Club MSS.) 


76 


KENTUCKY 


Leonard Helm, Joseph Bowman and William Harrod. 
Before leaving the Falls, he built a stockade fort for 
the protection of the settlers and as a place for stor¬ 
ing his reserve supplies. He now set about prepara¬ 
tions for his heroic adventure, and for the first time 
made known to his little army the object of his ex¬ 
pedition. The plan seemed so hazardous that some of 
the Holston volunteers deserted. 

A Perilous Expedition.—After leaving a small garri¬ 
son at the fort on Corn Island, Clark “shot the 
rapids’’ June 24, 1778, and proceeded down the Ohio 
to an island just below the mouth of the Tennessee 
River, where he landed and prepared for the march 
overland to Kaskaskia. Never had so small a band 
of heroes undertaken such a perilous enterprise, and 
one, as we shall see, which had such important results. 
Before beginning their march the little party was 
joined by six American hunters who had recently been 
in the French settlements. They furnished Clark 
with some important information, and agreed to act 
as guides. Writing of the expedition Clark says, “I 
knew my case was desperate, but the more I reflected 
on my weakness the more I was pleased with the 
enterprise.” He was a young man of great physical 
strength and an iron will, therefore, he felt no weak¬ 
ness personally, but the extent of the undertaking for 
an army of less than two hundred men made the situ¬ 
ation “desperate.” 

Speaking of the expedition, Bancroft says, “For 
the valor of the actors, their fidelity to one another, 
the seeming feebleness of their means and the great 
results of their hardihood, they are forever memo- 


CLARK’S EXPEDITION 77 

rable in the history of the world.” How well Clark 
and his heroic little band achieved their purpose will 
be related in the next chapter. 


QUESTIONS AND SUGGESTIONS. 

What was Clark’s plan of defense? Why did he go to Virginia? Did 
Patrick Henry favor Clark’s plans? What difficulties did Clark en¬ 
counter in raising his little army? With how many men did he leave 
the Falls for his perilous expedition? Why was Clark’s expedition a 
very dangerous and yet important one? What does Bancroft say of 
the expedition? 


CHAPTER XIV 

CLARK’S EXPEDITION 

The Capture of Kaskaskia.—Instead of following the 
much-traveled waterway, Clark decided to march 
overland to Kaskaskia, one hundred and twenty miles, 
over swampy and difficult roads, in order to take the 
enemy by surprise. Piloted by his guides, he pushed 
rapidly and silently forward and on the fourth of 
July reached the Kaskaskia River, within three miles 
of the town. Here the little army remained concealed 
in the woods until after dark. From a family living 
near the town he learned that the occupants were off 
their guard. Clark divided his forces in two parts; 
one he spread out to surround the town that none 
might escape, and the other he personally led up to 
the walls of the fortress. The Americans swarmed 
through the gates and were in possession of the town 


78 


KENTUCKY 


and fortress before the enemy was aware of their 
presence. In the meantime, Clark’s men had entered 
the fort and seized Rocheblave, the Commandant, and 
his officers. Thus Kaskaskia fell into the hands of 
the Americans without the firing of a shot. Runners 
were sent through the town ordering all people to 
remain indoors on pain of death. The inhabitants 
were terror-stricken by the sudden and mysterious ap¬ 
pearance of the backwoodsmen, whom the British had 
taught them to believe were more cruel and blood- 
thirsty than savages. 

The next morning the chief men of the town waited 
upon Clark, and with the greatest fear and humility, 
begged him to spare them and their families. Now 
Clark was not only a brave warrior but a man of great 
tact. He knew that his little band could not hold 
out long in the midst of so numerous an enemy. He 
wished to convert the inhabitants to the American 
cause, and explained to them that they had come not 
to enslave them but to set up a free government for 
all who chose to be loval to the Americans. He as- 
sured their priest, Pierre Gibault, that he and his 
people should have perfect religious freedom, and 
that it was the business of the Americans to defend 
all churches from insult. In brief, by stern dealings 
with any who resisted, and kind treatment of all who 
were friendly, he won the French and many of the 
Indians to the American cause. 

Surrender of Cahokia and Vincennes.— Father Gibault 
became a warm friend of the Americans, and through 
him the French were also won over. The people of 
Cahokia, learning of what had transpired at Kas- 


CLARK’S EXPEDITION 


79 


kaskia, and receiving news of the alliance between 
France and America, surrendered to a small detach¬ 
ment of Americans and French volunteers. Through 
the influence of the priest and some of the leading 
citizens of Kaskaskia, Vincennes, in a similar man¬ 
ner, pulled down the British colors and ran up the 
American flag instead. With the tact and address 
of a treaty-maker that had never been surpassed, 
Clark made allies of the fierce Indian tribes that sur¬ 
rounded him. For some time the Indians were 
friendly and the French remained loyal, but Clark 
foresaw many threatening dangers. 

The time of enlistment of his soldiers had expired 
and many of them insisted upon returning home. He 
was hundreds of miles from any American posts and 
surrounded by powerful and treacherous Indian 
tribes that were but recently allies of the British. 
Realizing his danger, Clark organized, drilled, and 
equipped a number of French volunteers for his army. 

The Fall and Recapture of Vincennes.—Colonel Henry 
Hamilton, whom the Kentuckians called the “Hair 
Buyer,” 1 was stationed at Detroit with a strong 
body of British regulars, besides having numerous 
Indian allies. As soon as he learned of the capture 
of Kaskaskia and Vincennes, he organized an expedi¬ 
tion against Clark to retake these towns. He left 
Detroit, October 7, and appeared before Vincennes 
in December, with a force of five hundred men. Cap- 

1 The pioneers called Hamilton the 11 Hair Buyer > ’ because they 
said he set a price upon American scalps taken by the Indians. It is 
at least certain that the British encouraged Indian depredations against 
the Americans. 



80 


KENTUCKY 


tain Leonard Helm, who had command of the fort, 
being deserted by his tickle French garrison, was com¬ 
pelled to surrender. Winter had set in and Hamilton 
feared to attempt an expedition against Kaskaskia 
until spring. Learning of this, Clark at once began 
preparations to retake Vincennes. He knew that his 
situation was desperate, and that he must “quit the 
country or attack Mr. Hamilton.” He dispatched 
Captain Rogers with forty-six men on board the boat, 
Willing, up the Wabash to the mouth of White 
River, there to await orders. With an army of only 
one hundred and seventy men, Clark left Kaskaskia 
February 5, 1779, and began a terrible march of one 
hundred and seventy miles across the “drowned 
lands” of the Illinois wilderness. History fails to 
reveal a more hazardous undertaking, more heroically 
accomplished. In many places the water was breast 
high. They waded across swamps and marshes and 
forded or swam the icy streams, and at night camped 
under frozen skies. Their provisions gave out, and 
they were in danger of starvation. Clark led the way, 
cheering and rallying his brave men by the example of 
his own cheerful and heroic spirit. He says, “A 
drummer boy, the pet of the regiment, was placed on 
the shoulders of a tall man and ordered to beat for 
his life,” to cheer the drooping spirits of the men. 
When within two miles of the town, knowing the 
friendly feelings of the inhabitants, Clark resolved 
to play a bold game. He sent a dispatch to them 
telling them he would immediately attack the fort, 
and that all true friends should remain peaceably in 
their homes, and all enemies of the Americans should 


CLARK’S EXPEDITION 


81 


“join the hair-buyer General and tight like men.” 
The inhabitants believed the town was about to be 
attacked by a large army. The surprise was so com¬ 
plete and the message so daring, that none, were dis¬ 
posed to resist. Nor did anyone dare to inform 
Colonel Hamilton of the approach of his enemy; as 
a result, the town was peaceably occupied. A short 
siege of the fort followed, but on the 24th of Febru¬ 
ary, 1779, Hamilton surrendered, and the garrison be¬ 
came prisoners of war. The Americans had only one 
wounded, and the British, eight killed and wounded. 
Two days later the Willing arrived, having been 
delayed by the swift currents of the Wabash, but too 
late to take part in the capture of the town. 

Results of the Campaign.—Thus ended one of the most 
masterly campaigns in the history of warfare. True, 
but few were engaged on either side, but for far- 
reaching results it has never been surpassed. It gave 
to the United States that vast territory out of which 
were formed the great states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, 
Michigan and Wisconsin. Had not the Americans 
captured and held this territory during the Revolu¬ 
tion, the treaty of 1783 would probably have fixed the 
Ohio River as our northern boundary instead of the 
present Canadian line. 1 


QUESTIONS AND SUGGESTIONS. 

How did Clark’s little army reach Kaskaskia? Describe the capture 
of the town. How did Clark win the friendship of Father Gibault 

1 For an interesting account of Clark’s expedition read Chapter XI, 
‘ 1 Daniel Boone and the Wilderness Road,” by Addington Bruce. 


82 


KENTUCKY 


and the French people? What other towns were captured? Tell the 
story of the fall and recapture of Vincennes. Why was Hamilton 
called the “Hair Buyer”? What great results came from this 
campaign? 


CHAPTER XV 

HARDSHIPS AND DANGERS OF EARLY YEARS 

We must now leave the peerless Clark in the North¬ 
west and turn to other important events that had 
been transpiring in Kentucky. 

In April, 1775, a party of hunters were camping on 
Elkhorn Creek, in what is now Fayette County, when 
they heard of the battle that opened the War of In¬ 
dependence, and in honor of the event they named 
the place Lexington. Thus, in the center of the 
beautiful Blue Grass Region of Kentucky was erected, 
by the naming of Lexington, the first monument in 
honor of the first who died in the American Revolu¬ 
tion. 1 The place was a favorite camping ground until 
April, 1779, when Colonel Robert Patterson, James 
Morrison, the McConnels, Lindseys, and others began 
a permanent settlement there. Many of the early 
settlers of Lexington became noted among the daring 
and enterprising pioneers of the State. The fort was 

• 

1 ‘ ‘ Stepped forth young Robert Patterson, and in voice emotion-hoarse: 
‘Let us give this spot, my comrades/ cried he, ‘whereon we stand, 
The glorious name of Lexington, which shall be throughout the land 
For all time to come a monument that the sons of men can see, 

And an altar dedicated to a people brave and free. ’ ; * 

—Alan P. Gilmour. 


HARDSHIPS AND DANGERS 83 

larger but similar in construction to other pioneer 
fortresses, and was located near a large spring. This 
settlement, fortunately, escaped any serious Indian 
attacks, and grew to be the center of the far-famed 
Blue Grass Region of Kentucky. 

Bryan’s and Ruddle’s Stations.—The same year, 
Bryan’s Station, located about five miles northeast 
of Lexington, was settled by four brothers, one of 
whom, William Bryan, had married a sister of Daniel 
Boone. The station was one of the frontier posts of 
the settlements and became the object of many Indian 
attacks. Ruddle’s Station, located on South Licking 
River, had been settled by John Hinkson in 1775. 
After being deserted for nearly two years, it was re¬ 
occupied by Isaac Ruddle and a party of settlers. 
They strengthened the fort, built cabins, and later 
were joined by James Ruddle and others. 

George Rogers Clark returned to Kentucky in the 
spring of 1779, and found great changes had taken 
place. His victories in the Illinois Territory had 
encouraged many more people to seek homes in the 
great West; but Clark knew that British and Indian 
attacks would not cease until the British posts at 
Sandusky and Detroit were destroyed, or a general 
peace was obtained by a decisive victory. A number 
of forts and stations had sprung up in spite of the 
large and numerous bands of Indian marauders that 
still harassed the Kentucky settlements. 

The “Hard Winter.”—In the midst of Indian terrors 
and the labor and hardships of the settlers in erect¬ 
ing their new homes in the wilderness, came the 
“Hard Winter” of 1779, that blocked the rivers with 


84 


KENTUCKY 


ice for three months. Provisions became so scarce 
that starvation threatened the people. Many of the 
domestic animals died of cold and hunger, and the 
wild animals became scarce and so lean they were 
unfit for food. Many of the cabins were incomplete; 
even the best were open and cold so that suffering 
became very great; but the suffering of companies 
of immigrants who were overtaken by snow storms 
while on their way to Kentucky were even greater. 
In the midst of these woes the women spun and wove, 
the men improved their cabins, and the land com¬ 
missioners continued to adjust claims and to issue 
titles to land without thought of abandoning their 
homes in the new country. 

Capture of Ruddle’s and Martin’s Stations.—In the 

summer of 1780, a force of over six hundred Indians 
and Canadians, led by Colonel Byrd, a British officer, 
and accompanied by six pieces of artillery, appeared 
before Buddie’s Station and demanded its surrender. 
Captain Ruddle, knowing it would be impossible to 
hold out against so large and well-armed a foe, agreed 
to surrender on the promise of Colonel Byrd that the 
Americans would become the prisoners of the British, 
and be protected from the Indians. When the gates 
were opened, however, the Indians rushed in, seized 
the prisoners, and plundered the fort. Husbands,, 
wives, and children were separated in a most pitiless 
way and scattered among the Indian tribes—some 
were murdered and a few escaped to return to Ken¬ 
tucky. Captain Ruddle protested against this cruelty, 
but the British officer declared he could not prevent so 
numerous a band of savages from violating the treaty. 


HARDSHIPS AND DANGERS 


85 


The Indians were eager to make an immediate attack 
on Martin’s Station, located five miles from Ruddle’s 
Station, but Colonel Byrd refused to lead them unless 
their chiefs agreed that all prisoners should belong 
to the British, and that the Indians should have only 
the plunder. Upon this agreement, they marched 
against Martin’s Station, which also yielded without 
resistance. The-Indians were eager for further con¬ 
quests but Colonel Byrd insisted upon the necessity 
of their returning to their camps beyond the Ohio, 
thus unwittingly saving other settlements from de¬ 
struction. 1 

Pioneer Schools.—Notwithstanding many disasters, 
the dauntless settlers clung to the land they had 
settled. The spring of 1780 brought still other immi¬ 
grants from the eastern colonies, among whom were 
many useful and educated men. In spite of hard¬ 
ships and constant perils from Indians, the edu¬ 
cational needs of the times were not altogether 
neglected. The first school was organized by Joseph 
Doniphan at Boonesborough in 1779.- The equip¬ 
ment was very crude. There were no text-books and 
but little paper. Smooth boards, with oak-gall and 
poke-berry ink were used for writing and “ cipher¬ 
ing”; Bibles, hymn books, and other printed forms 

1 McElroy, “Kentucky in the Nation’s History,” p. 103, says, “But 
it was, after all, an Indian army, and acted with caution, characteristic 
of the savage. Having so easily secured numerous prisoners and a 
goodly pile of plunder, it declined farther to tempt fate, and hastily 

retired to camps beyond the Ohio. ’ ’ 

a “ Collins’ History,” Vol. II, p. 523. Other private schools were 
organized about this time. Mrs. William Coomes, according to one 
historian, organized a private school in the fort at Harrodsburg as early 


86 


KENTUCKY 


were used for text-books. The eagerness with which 
the children studied and learned overcame many 
handicaps, and enabled them to become strong and 
capable citizens of the growing Commonwealth. 

Kentucky County Divided.—By 1780 the population 
had so increased that the legislature of Virginia de¬ 
cided to divide the County of Kentucky into three 
counties,—Jefferson, Fayette, and Lincoln. 1 John 
Floyd, John Todd, and Benjamin Logan were ap¬ 
pointed Colonels in command of the militia of these 
counties respectively. About this time George Rogers 
Clark was made Brigadier General and put in com¬ 
mand of the State troops. The chief object of this 
arrangement was to organize military protection 
against the Indians. A special surveyor was ap¬ 
pointed for each county in order to properly survey 
and distribute the lands to the settlers. 

An incident occurred about this time that illustrates 
the generous spirit of the heroic pioneer, and shows 
how a common danger sometimes unites friend and 
foe. Colonel John Floyd, learning of an attack upon 
a party of settlers who were moving from Squire 
Boone’s Station near Shelbyville to a stronger settle¬ 
ment, hurriedly collected twenty-five men and went 
to their rescue. In spite of the usual precautions, 
Floyd fell into an ambuscade and was defeated, 
being himself wounded. He was retreating on foot 
and in danger of being overtaken by the Indians, when 
Captain Samuel Wells, who was mounted, came up 

1 The student should remember that in December, 1776, the Virginia 
Assembly first divided all the vast territory of Fincastle County into 
three counties—Kentucky, Montgomery and Washington. 


HARDSHIPS AND DANGERS 


87 


with him. Notwithstanding the men were enemies, 

Captain Wells dismounted and placed Colonel Floyd 

on his horse and ran by his side to aid him. Both men 

«/ 

escaped, and it is said, “they lived and died friends.” 

Fort Jefferson.—As early as 1778, Patrick Henry and 
General Clark had planned to build a fort on the 
Mississippi, south of the Ohio, in order to establish 
the claim of the United States to the Mississippi as 
the western boundary. In 1780, Thomas Jefferson, 
who had succeeded Patrick Henry as Governor of 
Virginia, ordered Clark to begin such a fort at once. 
Many Kentuckians, who feared the plan would use¬ 
lessly weaken the Kentucky settlements, were opposed 
to it, but Clark favored the plan, and proceeded at 
once to organize a body of two hundred men to carry 
it out. The fort was located in Kentucky below the 
junction of the Ohio and Mississippi, and was named 
Fort Jefferson. It was designed to command the trade 
of these rivers, and as a fortress from which to direct 
military expeditions. Clark all the while kept a close 
watch upon the movements of the British and Indians 
north of the Ohio. Before the fort was completed he 
saw that an attack on the other settlements was im¬ 
minent, so, with two companions, all three disguised 
as Indians, he made his way on foot through woods 
and across streams to Harrodsburg to prepare for 
their defense. 1 

1 The route traveled by Clark and his companions lay through a 
trackless, Indian-haunted forest for a distance of over two hundred 
miles. Their appearance at Harrodsburg, in Indian disguise, surprised 
but greatly encouraged the settlers. 


88 


KENTUCKY 


QUESTIONS AND SUGGESTIONS. 

When was Lexington settled and why was it so named? Describe 
the settlement of Bryan’s and Buddie’s Stations. Describe the ‘ ‘ Hard 
Winter’’ of 1779. Tell the story of the capture of Ruddle’s and 
Martin’s Stations. Describe the first schools established in Kentucky. 
Into what counties was the State divided at this time? Tell how 
Captain Wells saved the life of Colonel Floyd. Why was Fort Jeffer¬ 
son erected? 


CHAPTER XVI 

DESTRUCTION OF INDIAN TOWNS 

BATTLE OF LITTLE MOUNTAIN 

Expedition Against Indian Towns.—When Clark 
reached Harrodsburg he found the settlers unaware 
of their impending danger, and the land offices the 
centers of interest and activity. He ordered these 
closed, and called for volunteers in an expedition 
against the enemy. In the midst of these preparations 
came the swift and resistless attack, led by Colonel 
Byrd, as related in the preceding chapter. Clark at 
once organized and equipped a thousand men for a 
counter invasion. With usual promptness, he marched 
against the Indians at Chillicothe, Ohio, burned the 
town, and destroyed the crops. He next advanced 
against Piqua, a strongly fortified town which was 
garrisoned by several hundred Indians under the no¬ 
torious renegade, Simon Girty. 1 After severe fight- 


1 Simon Girty’s father had been killed by Indians, and Simon taken 
prisoner and adopted by them while yet a boy. He grew up among the 
Indians and adopted their cruel and cunning ways. -He became a 


INDIAN TOWNS 


89 


ing the Indians fled, and the town and crops were de¬ 
stroyed. Colonel Benjamin Logan was sent with a 
detachment to a village, twenty miles ahead, to destroy 
stores of guns and ammunition from which the Indians 
were being supplied. The destruction of their villages 
and provisions left the Indians destitute and discour¬ 
aged, upon the verge of a severe winter. Their pun¬ 
ishment had been swift and complete and their bloody 
invasions had been avenged. No large bodies again 
entered Kentucky for some time. 

Attack on Estill’s Station.—In the spring of 1782, an 
Indian raft with no one on it was seen floating down 
the Kentucky River past Boonesborough. It was a 
sign to the keen-witted settlers that Indians were 
crossing the stream above and preparing to attack 
some of the settlements. Word was sent to Captain 
Estill at his station, fifteen miles south of Boones¬ 
borough, and he promptly collected a force of forty 
riflemen, and went in search of the Indians. On the 
early morning of the following day, the Indians at¬ 
tacked Estill’s Station, killed and scalped a girl, 
and captured Monk, a slave who belonged to Captain 
Estill. Only women and children and four invalid 
men were in the fort at this time, but the faithful 
Monk told the Indians there were forty men in the 
fort preparing to attack them, whereupon they at once 
fled. As soon as the Indians withdrew, the women dis¬ 
patched two boys to follow Estill’s trail and to in¬ 
form him of what had happened. The brave and 

leader among the savages, and a relentless enemy to his own race. 
The settlers called him the “White Renegade/’ and regarded him 
with scorn and contempt. 


90 KENTUCKY 

swift-footed lads came up with Estill the next day, 
whereupon he dispatched some of his men to defend 
the fort, and with twenty-five others he went in pur¬ 
suit of the Indians. 1 

Battle of Little Mountain.—March 22, Captain Estill’s 
party attacked twenty-five Wyandot warriors at Little 
Mountain, now Mount Sterling. The Indians and 
whites were equally matched in number, but the 
ground was favorable to Indian defense. The most 
bloody and heroic conflict, considering the number 
engaged, that ever took place on Kentucky soil, at 
once began, and lasted for two hours. “ Every man 
to his man, and every man to his tree, ’ ’ at once became 
the battle slogan. The chief of the Wyandots fell 
wounded, but propped up by a log, he rallied his 
braves with his wild and defiant battle cry, while they 
fought with the courage of despair to avenge his 
wounds. “The Indian chief could not retreat, and 
without him his men would not . 9 ’ 2 At this critical 
moment Captain Estill sent Lieutenant Miller with 
five men to make a flank movement against the enemy, 
but Miller and his men became panic stricken and 
fled. ' The brave Estill and his remaining Spartan 
band fought on until Estill himself was killed. The 
voice of the wounded chief, by this time, was also 
hushed in death, and by an unspoken mutual assent 
the battle ceased, but the Indians remained in posses¬ 
sion of the field. At the close of the conflict, nine 
Kentuckians lay dead, and of those remaining, several 

1 The lads who performed this important mission were afterwards 
General Samuel South and Peter Haskett. 

2 Collins’ “History of Kentucky,” Vol. II, p. 634. 


INDIAN TOWNS 


91 


were wounded. Monk, who afterwards escaped, re¬ 
ported that the Wyandots lost seventeen killed and 
wounded. Miller and his men, who fled in the midst 
of the battle, were ever afterwards held in dishonor 
by the Kentucky people, and some of them barely 
escaped violent punishment at the hands of the in¬ 
dignant pioneers. It is pleasant to remember, how¬ 
ever, that there are but few instances of this kind 
to make Kentuckians hang their heads in shame or 
dishonor. 

A Trying Time.—During these times that tried the 
souls of the pioneer people, one tragedy succeeded an¬ 
other in rapid succession. Colonel Floyd, writing to 
Thomas Jefferson in April, 1781, said, “We are all 
obliged to live in forts in this country, and notwith¬ 
standing all the caution that we use, forty-seven in¬ 
habitants have been killed and taken prisoners by 
savages, besides a number wounded since January 
last. Whole families are destroyed without regard to 
age or sex. Infants are torn from their mothers ’ 
arms, and their brains dashed out against trees. . . . 
Not a week passes, and some weeks scarcely a day, 
without some of our distressed inhabitants feeling the 
fatal effects of the infernal rage and fury of these 
execrable hell-hounds. ’ ’ 1 It is unpleasant to dwell 
upon so many tragedies in the early history of our 
fair Commonwealth, but the historian must set down 
the facts and leave the reader to learn from them the 
lessons of sacrifice and service. The lives of these 
Knights of the Kentucky Wilderness should teach us 
to make our lives sublime with deeds of courage and 

1 ‘ 1 Virginia State Papers, ’ ’ Vol. II, p. 48, 


92 


KENTUCKY 


heroic action, and to appreciate our fair country that 
is now a land of peace and plenty. 

Grand Council of Chiefs.—But all the stories of the 
numerous tragedies have not yet been told. At this 
time the confederated tribes north of the Ohio were, 
organizing to strike a combined and decisive blow 
against the Kentuckians. They observed with a 
jealous eye, the continued invasion and settlement of 
their favorite hunting ground, and resolved to make 
one final effort to destroy the white invaders. Ac¬ 
cordingly they arranged for a Grand Council of the 
chiefs and warriors of many tribes to meet at Old 
Chillicothe, in the summer of 1782. The British 
agents promised their aid in the enterprise, for they 
were anxious to avenge the disgrace suffered in the 
loss of Vincennes. The Indians and British assembled 
under the command of Captain William Caldwell. 
In a stirring speech the notorious Simon Girty en¬ 
deavored to arouse the fiendish passions of the In¬ 
dians against the whites, and to provoke them to acts 
of utmost cruelty. 1 

Vain Hopes.—In the meantime news of the surrender 
of Cornwallis in October, 1781, had reached the settlers 
and produced much rejoicing. They were deluded 
with the vain hope that British and Indian invasions 
would now cease. As we have seen, in the spring of 
1782, Indian attacks on the Kentuckians succeeded 
each other in cruel and rapid succession. In the sum¬ 
mer these attacks suddenly ceased, and the settlers 
began to feel secure against further Indian troubles. 
But they were soon undeceived. In August numerous 

1 ‘ ‘ Marshall, * ' I, p. 132, 


ATTACKS 93 

war parties destroyed many outlying settlements and 
laid siege to the fortified towns. 


QUESTIONS AND SUGGESTIONS. 

What did Clark do to check Indian invasions? Give an account of 
the expedition against the Indian towns. Describe the attack on 
Estill ’s Station. Give an account of the battle of Little Mountain. 
What did Colonel Floyd say about the perils of the settlers at this 
time? What was the object of the Grand Council of Chiefs? Why 
did the Kentuckians rejoice at the surrender of Cornwallis? 


CHAPTER XVII 

ATTACK ON BRYAN’S STATION 

BATTLE OF BLUE LICKS 

\ 

Attack on Bryan’s Station.—Immediately following 
the council of the British and Indians at Old Chilli- 
cothe, mentioned in the preceding chapter, an army of 
about four hundred British and Indians, under Cap¬ 
tains Caldwell and McKee and the crafty Girty, 
crossed the Ohio and moved stealthily toward Bryan’s 
Station. Unseen and unsuspected, they came upon 
the Station at daybreak, August 15, 1782, just at a 
time when its defenders were preparing to go to the 
aid of Hoy’s Station, which was also alarmed by the 
presence of Indians. On this occasion the enemy 
staged one of the most picturesque attacks yet made 
upon the Kentucky settlements. After placing the 


94 


KENTUCKY 


larger part of their forces in ambush, on the side of 
the fort near the spring, they ordered a smaller party 
to take a position on the opposite side. These were 
to make a noisy attack, then retreat in order to draw 
out the defenders in pursuit of them, and thus leave 
the station without armed protection. The garrison 



Typical Indian Chiefs 

at once suspected the ruse, and formed a counter plot 
to defeat it. They immediately began to put the fort 
in a state of defense. The gates were barred, the 
port-holes and bastions were manned, water was 
brought in, and messengers were dispatched to neigh¬ 
boring stations for aid. 1 Preparations for the siege 
being completed, thirteen young; men were sent out to 

1 Water for the station was obtained from a spring some distance 
from the fort, but Indians concealed near it had been discovered. The 
supply of water was short, and it was necessary to replenish it. How 
to do this, and allay the suspicions of the enemy, and thus prevent an 




ATTACKS 


95 


attack the decoy party of Indians, but were told not 
to pursue them too far. They sallied forth from the 
gate and made a clamorous attack on the decoy party, 
which fled. As the sounds of the noisy melee grew 
more distant, Girty and his dusky band of four hun¬ 
dred savages rushed upon the western gate, with fire- 
brand and rifle, in eager expectation of an easy vic¬ 
tory. From bastion and port-hole, the pioneer rifle¬ 
men suddenly poured into the advancing savage 
horde a deadly fire that sent them screaming and 
howling to cover, and left many dead and wounded 
before the fort. Just at this time, the sallying party 
came bounding back through the opposite gate, laugh¬ 
ing, and in high spirits at the success of their maneu¬ 
ver. Outwitted and greatly chagrined, the enemy 
now began a siege in the usual way, but having no 
cannon they were unable to succeed against so able 
a defense. Every mode of attack failed, and as night 
approached, the Indians, fearing re-enforcements 
might arrive, grew restless. The fire on both sides 
had almost ceased, no impression had been made upon 
the fort, and the chiefs favored abandoning the siege 
at once. 

Girty’s Stratagem Fails.—Girty, however, determined 
to ask for a peaceable surrender, so he approached 

immediate attack, was solved by the heroic women of the station who 
were persuaded to bring in a supply. To the protests of some of them, 
the men replied that the women were in the habit of bringing in the 
water every morning, a fact, they said, that was probably known to 
the Indians. These arguments prevailed. So, chatting and laughing 
as though ignorant of their danger, they passed through the rear gate 
with buckets and gourds, piggins and pails, to the spring and returned 
in safety. Thus, the courage of the pioneer women outwitted the 
cunning of the savage. 


96 


KENTUCKY 


the fort, stood upon a large stump, and hailed the gar¬ 
rison. He praised their courage but assured them 
that further resistance was useless, since he had six 
hundred warriors with him, and was expecting re- 
enforcements with cannon. He told them his name, 
and assured them upon his honor “that not a hair of 
their heads should be injured.” The garrison listened 
in silence until a young man, by the name of Reynolds, 
came forward and said in reply, that he knew the 
speaker well and that he had a worthless dog which 
he had named Simon Girty because of his resemblance 
to him. As for re-enforcements, he told Girty that 
they too were expecting aid, and if he and his murder¬ 
ous band remained twenty-four hours longer, their 
scalps would be found drying on the roofs of the fort. 
Girty retired, greatly offended, but by daybreak the 
next morning the enemy had deserted their camp in 
apparent haste, leaving their fires burning. 

Pursuit of the Indians.—By this time news of the 
attack had reached other settlements, and companies 
of armed men were on their way to Bryan’s Station. 
By night, one hundred and eighty-two horsemen had 
assembled. A council was held, and it was decided to 
give pursuit to the Indians without waiting for the 
arrival of expected re-enforcements under Colonel 
Logan. The Indians had retreated leisurely, pur¬ 
posely leaving a trail easily followed, which Colonel 
Boone called “danger signs.” The pursuing party 
was led by Colonel John Todd, the ranking officer, 
Colonels Trigg and Boone, and Majors Harlan, Mc¬ 
Bride, McGary, and Levi Todd. On the morning of 
August 19, the Kentuckians came in sight of the 


ATTACKS 97 

enemy near Blue Licks, where they halted and held a 
council of war. 

The Indians had crossed the Licking River and 
were believed to be planning an ambuscade. Colonel 
Boone who was familiar with Indian tactics, and know¬ 
ing the locality was favorable to an ambuscade, urged 
that they wait for Colonel Logan’s troops. His 
opinion was strongly seconded by other officers, and 
his counsel would probably have prevailed had it not 
been for the reckless daring of one man. Major Mc- 
Gary, tilled with a furious hatred of Indians because 
of the murder of his son by some of them, suddenly 
uttered a defiant cry and “spurred his horse into the 
stream, waved his hat over his head, and shouted 
aloud: ‘Let all who are not cowards follow me!’ The 
words and the action together, produced an electrical 
effect. The mounted men dashed recklessly into the 
river, each striving to be foremost. The footmen 
were mingled with them in one rolling and irregular 
mass.” 1 The reckless Kentuckians struggled across 
the ford, up the bank in mad pursuit, observing neither 
prudence nor order. 

Battle of Blue Licks.—When they reached the spot 
mentioned by Boone as favorable to an ambuscade, 
they suddenly found themselves entangled in the wings 
of a savage net and exposed to a deadly fire from an 
unseen foe. Officers and men rallied and fought 
bravely against overwhelming odds. In a few minutes 
many of the officers and men had been slain, and a 
disorderly flight followed. The Indians threw away 
their rifles and pursued the Kentuckians with toma- 

'“McClung’s Sketches.” Quoted by Collins, II, p. 657. 


98 


i 


KENTUCKY 


hawk and knife, overtaking and killing many of them. 
In five minutes about seventy brave Kentuckians had 
fallen, twelve were wounded, and seven captured. 
Among the slain was Colonel John Todd, one of the 
most talented lawyers, fearless officers and lovable 
gentlemen among the pioneers. Still other leaders 
who fell were Colonel Trigg, Majors Harlan, Mc¬ 
Bride and Boone’s son. Colonel Logan came up later 
with strong re-enforcements but the Indians had 
crossed the Ohio and nothing remained to do but bury 
the dead where they had fallen. Every settlement 
mourned the loss of some honored man, beloved friend 
or relative. Wives, mothers, and orphans refused to 
be consoled. By the rash act of one man, an unneces¬ 
sary tragedy had been enacted, and untold grief visited 
upon the innocent. But the Spartan spirit of the 
pioneer was now aroused, and a general clamor for 
revenge was heard throughout the border. 

The Indians Punished.—George Rogers Clark had 
never abandoned his plans to secure a united effort 
to invade the British and Indian strongholds north 
of the Ohio, and by a decisive blow forever destroy 
their power. He now saw an opportunity to put into 
effect a part of his cherished plan. He at once issued 
a call for a thousand riflemen. These assembled at 
the mouth of the Licking River, in November, 1782, 
and from the site of what is now Cincinnati, they took 
up their march against the Indian towns on the Little 
Miami. The invaders moved silently and rapidly, and 
fell upon the Indian towns like a thunderclap, destroy¬ 
ing everything before them. The Indians fled in dis¬ 
may, many of them being pursued and slain. Their 


ATTACKS 


99 


winter stores were destroyed, and their spirit so com¬ 
pletely broken that they never again returned to Ken¬ 
tucky in large invading forces. With the close of the 
Revolution, and the signing of the treaty with Great 
Britain in 1782, the hopes of the settlers revived. For 
the most part, the battle ground was now shifted to 
the North. The bloody war period of Kentucky was 
closed, and British and Indian power in the State was 
forever broken. Out of this heroic strife emerged the 
State of Kentucky whose star was soon to take its 
place in the blue field of our national emblem. 


QUESTIONS AND SUGGESTIONS. 

Describe the attack on Bryan’s Station. How did the heroism of the 
women save the station? What strategy did Girty attempt? What 
is your opinion of Major McGary’s conduct? Give an account of the 
Battle of Blue Licks. How were the Indians punished? Were the 
white men justified in burning their towns and destroying their pro¬ 
visions? 


CHAPTER XVIII 

ORIGIN OF THE PIONEER PEOPLE 

The story of the settlement of our State would be 
incomplete without an account of the kinds of people 
who first occupied it. As in other states of the Union 
the settlers of Kentucky came from many countries, 
but the greater number were of English origin. 

Development of the Pioneer.—When our ancestors 
came from Europe they settled upon unknown, savage 
shores amid wild surroundings that tested the most 
dauntless spirits and frightened the weak. So it came 
about that the best man-making blood remained and 
survived, while many of the weak and unfit perished, 
or returned to Europe. From the beginning, our con¬ 
tinent was a fiery furnace for separating human dross 
from the shining metal out of which has been forged 
our great Nation. The permanent settlers of America 
were a hardy, strong-minded people who came to this 
country to escape political and religious persecution. 
Rather than bow to the tyranny of kings or submit to 
religious intolerance, they became self-exiled for con¬ 
science ’ and truth’s sake. The dangers and hardships 
these sturdy, liberty-loving people had to meet and 
overcome in America, still further prepared them to 
conquer the New World, and to found a free govern¬ 
ment. Most of the timid, and idlers, and the ne’er-do- 

wells settled down to a life of ease and indolence in the 

100 



ORIGIN OF PIONEERS 


101 


towns of the coast plain. The pioneers who moved 
across the mountains, founded homes, and carved new 
states out of the wilderness, were generally of a hardy 
Anglo-Saxon, Teutonic and Scotch type. Having 
come from denselv populated countries, the early 
settlers, at first, were satisfied with small farms. But 
as the vastness of the American continent became 
known to them, they were moved by a desire to press 
toward the border and settle the larger and more 
fertile areas of land. So it happened, as it always 
does, that the vanguard of the pioneers was composed 
of the most ambitious and adventurous people of the 
older colonies. The farther westward these heralds 
of the coming Republic traveled, the freer and more 
self-reliant their spirits became; this is why they re¬ 
sented tyrannical government. In the light of these 
facts, it can readily be understood why, in the Revo¬ 
lution, there were but few Tories among the back¬ 
woodsmen. 

The Rising Tide.—After these bordermen had crossed 
the Blue Ridge Mountains into the fertile Shenandoah 
and adjacent valleys, and were pushing the frontier 
up the slopes of the Alleghenies, the fame of Ken¬ 
tucky’s fertility and beauty was spread among them. 
At this time there were two human tides flowing to¬ 
ward Cumberland Gap—one, northwest up the val¬ 
leys of the Savannah, Santee, and other rivers of this 
region; the other, southwest up the Shenandoah and 
parallel valleys. These two streams of settlers, both 
the result of following fertile valleys, came together 
in the Holston and Clinch River region in western 
North Carolina and Virginia, about 1750 to 1775. « 


102 


KENTUCKY 


Effects of Two Ideals. —Most of the Kentucky pioneers 
came from Virginia, which had been settled chiefly 
by people from the rural districts of England, while 
the colonists of New England came, principally, from 
the towns of Britain, and were more generally trained 
in the industrial, arts. For this reason, and because 
of the infertility of the land they had settled, the 
northern colonists naturally founded towns and de¬ 
veloped manufacturing industries, while their 
southern neighbors became farmers and land owners. 1 
The desire for land caused the southern colonists 
to push the pioneer border rapidly westward, while 
the New England settlers established themselves 
in towns and densely populated communities. 
As already related, most of the English settlers 
were a sturdy Anglo-Saxon stock, used to rural occu¬ 
pations and the freedom of country life and thought. 
They were land hungry, and faced the dangers of the 
wilderness to satisfy their desire. 

The Scotch-Irish. —In 1698 an epidemic of commercial 
and religious persecutions broke out against some 
Scotch-Presbyterian settlements in Ulster, Ireland, 
that resulted in many of these people coming to 
America. 2 From 1719 to 1792, a period that covered 

1 The student should study a large map of this region and note the 
geographical relation of its valleys to Cumberland Gap as a gateway 
to Kentucky. 

2 In 1611, to offset the growth of the Catholic population, King James 
of England, an ardent Protestant, induced many thrifty Scotch and 
rural Englishmen to settle in Ulster. These “picked” Protestant 
settlers built up so many rival industries that they aroused the jealousy 
of the English manufacturers, who caused oppressive commercial laws 
to be passed against them. Many of the descendants of these persecuted 
people found their way to America and to Kentucky. 



ORIGIN OF PIONEERS 


103 


1 

the American Revolution, these thrifty, intelligent 
people came in a steady stream to America. In one 
week, in 1727, six ship loads of them landed at Phila¬ 
delphia. In two years, 1773-1774, more than 30,000 
of them came; and at the breaking out of the Revolu¬ 
tion there were about 500,000 of them, or one-sixth of 
the entire population of America. 1 Having come from 
Ireland, these Scotch settlers became known as 
“Scotch-Irish.” When these immigrants arrived on 
our shores they found most of the country along the 
coast already taken up, and being “able bodied, hardy 
and stout men,” and “very greedy after land,” they 
settled, principally, on the western border of North 
Carolina, Virginia and Pennsylvania. 

Other Elements.— About 1754 a large group of Scotch 
Highlanders settled in North Carolina, and like their 
Scotch-Irish brethren, many of them moved up to the 
mountain border of the State. Later still, there came 
from France the Huguenots, driven hence by religious 
persecution. These were likewise an intelligent and 
thrifty Protestant people who pushed on toward the 
border of the states in which they settled. There was 
also a sprinkling of the Irish and other elements that 
swelled the human tide which was about to overflow 
the mountain passes into Kentucky. As if led by the 
hand of Destiny, the fittest people of several nations 
were gathering upon the border of the eastern colonies 
preparatory to colonizing the West. With the break¬ 
ing out of the Revolution came reports of the hunters 
and explorers concerning the fertile lands, abundance 
of game, and the delightful climate of Kentucky. The 

1 Fiske, ‘ 1 Old Virginia and Her Neighbors, ’* II, p. 394. 


104 


KENTUCKY 


story of how these border people conquered the wil¬ 
derness and settled Kentucky has been told in pre¬ 
vious chapters. 

The Backwoodsman.— Most of the Kentucky settlers 
were trained pioneers before they came; those who 
were not, were composed of a rugged breed that 
quickly adapted themselves to backwoods life. Sep¬ 
arated from the nearest eastern settlements by al¬ 
most impassable, savage-haunted mountains, shut in 
by gloomy forests, and threatened on all sides by 
savage foes, it was necessary for the pioneer to adapt 
himself to a semi-savage state. While he fought back 
Indian foes, and subdued the wilderness, he himself 
was molded by his harsh surroundings into a rude 
backwoodsman. As an eminent historian has said, 
“The Wilderness masters the colonist. It finds him a 
European in dress, industries, tools, modes of travel 
and thought. It takes him from the sailing ship and 
puts him in the birch canoe. It strips off the garments 
of civilization and arrays him in the hunting shirt and 
moccasin. It puts him in the log cabin of the Cherokee 
and Iroquois and runs an Indian palisade around 
him. ” 1 In short, it was only by adapting himself to 
his perilous surroundings that the Kentucky pioneer 
successfully founded our great Commonwealth. 

Separated as they were from the eastern settle¬ 
ments, and dependent upon their own courage and 
resources, we can readily understand how the pioneers 
became self-reliant, independent spirits that fretted 
under too many laws, and resisted any that were im¬ 
posed without their consent. “Under the belief that 

1 Turner, ‘ ‘ The Frontier in American History, ’ ’ p. 4. 


ORIGIN OF PIONEERS 


105 


all men going into vacant lands have the right to shape 
their own political institutions, the riflemen of west¬ 
ern Pennsylvania, Kentucky and Tennessee, during 
the Revolution, protested against the rule of govern¬ 
ments east of the mountains and asserted with manly 
independence their right to self-government.” 1 For 
this reason it may be safely said, that democracy 
sprang from the border people of America and was 
the chief force that broke up charter and proprietary 
forms of government which had been imported from 
Europe. Indeed, it was this same spirit that caused 
the American colonies to throw oft the yoke of the 
mother country and establish a “government of the 
people, by the people and for the people/’ 

The Soldier Settler.— Even during the Revolutionary 
War, a steady stream of immigrants continued to 
settle in Kentucky. It is estimated that by 1785 there 
were 30,000 people in the State. At the close of the 
Revolution the tide of immigration was greatly in¬ 
creased by the coming of many Revolutionary soldiers. 
Some came to renew the fortunes they had lost in 
the war, while many others were moved by the unrest 
that followed the conflict. This soldier element was 
possibly the most important one that came to the State 
in its early history. Much of love of liberty and the 
fighting spirit of the Kentuckians was the offspring 
of the Revolution. While the blood of many nations 
flows in the veins of the Kentuckians, the original 
strong type of English and Scotch-Irish has been pre¬ 
served. This is due largely to the man-making forces 
of nature. The solemn forests, the everlasting hills 

1 Turner, “The Frontier in American History,” p. 169, 


106 


KENTUCKY 


and mountains, and the changing landscapes seem to 
have a way of making a greater people than bare 
plains or smoky cities. 


QUESTIONS AND SUGGESTIONS. 

What kind of people settled America? What effect did the hard¬ 
ships and dangers of the new country have upon them? What was 
the character of the people who settled Kentucky? What did they 
most desire? Why did the northern colonies fouitd towns and the 
southern colonies become large land owners? Who were the Scotch- 
Irish people? The Huguenots? Explain the colonizing movements that 
led to the settlement of Kentucky. What part did the soldier-settler 
have in establishing our State? 


CHAPTER XIX 

SEPARATION FROM VIRGINIA 

THE STRUGGLE FOR .STATEHOOD 1 

From 1783 to 1789 is known as the “Critical Period” 
in our nation’s history. During this time the weak¬ 
ness of the Articles of Confederation became so evi¬ 
dent that there arose a general clamor for a stronger 
central government. Happily these trying years of 
jealousy and strife among the independent states re¬ 
sulted in forming the strong Federal Government 
under which we now live. While these things wer^ 

1 An excellent account of Kentucky’s struggle for statehood is given 
in Chapter IV, “Kentucky in the Nation’s History,” McElroy. Also 
Chapter VIII, “Kentucky,” by Shaler. 


STATEHOOD 107 

happening in the East, Kentucky was struggling for 
independent statehood. 1 

Isolation of Kentucky.— During the bloody years of 
the Revolution the Kentucky pioneers, with but little 
aid from Virginia, had waged a continuous warfare 
against the savages and had purchased by hardships 
and suffering an enduring claim on the West that 
laid the foundation for many new states. Virginia 
was cut oft from her Kentucky colony by a mountain 
wall, and separated from her by hundreds of miles of 
trackless forests. For six years she had been engaged 
in a war for independence that exhausted all her re¬ 
sources. Under these conditions it was impossible 
for her to render much aid to the Kentucky colony. 

Reasons for Separation.— Inasmuch as the Kentucky 
settlers had by their suffering and sacrifice secured 
the beginnings of a new state, it was but natural that 
they should desire to separate themselves from Vir¬ 
ginia and establish their own independence. Virginia 
deserved and still held the warm affections of the 
Kentucky people. But it was urged, with reason and 
justice by the Kentuckians, that it was not practicable 
for a state so far away, and unacquainted with the 
difficulties and problems of a remote territory, to rule 
it justly and successfully. 

The First Convention.— The question was a difficult 
and important one that demanded calm and thoughtful 
action. Accordingly a convention was called at Dan- 

1 (Note to teacher): This period of our Nation’s history should be 
studied in connection with this chapter. It was an important as well 
as a critical period both in the history of our State and our Gov- 
eminent. 


108 


KENTUCKY 


ville, on December 27, 1784, to “devise if possible some 
means of preserving their country from that immedi¬ 
ate destruction which seemed then impending. ’ ’ 1 
After prolonged debate the convention unanimously 
decided that whatever was done should be in accord¬ 
ance with the laws of Virginia. The convention passed 
a resolution calling for the election of representatives 
to another convention to be held the 23d of the fol¬ 
lowing May. 

The Second Convention.— The second convention met 
and resolved that a petition be presented to the As¬ 
sembly of Virginia asking that Kentucky be made 
into a separate State, and recommending that it be 
admitted into the Union of the United States. In¬ 
stead of carrying out these resolutions, action on them 
was referred to a future meeting and thus the con¬ 
vention failed to accomplish the purpose for which 
it had been called. 

Causes of Discontent.— All of these delays, and the 
manifest weakness of the newly organized Confedera¬ 
tion of States in permitting the British to still hold 
numerous posts in the Northwest, and the rumors that 
Congress was about to abandon all claims to the navi¬ 
gation of the Mississippi for twenty-five years, caused 
a general murmur of discontent. 2 The Kentuckians 
realized they could not, with safety or profit, carry 

1 Littell , s “Political Transactions,” p. 16. 

3 The Spaniards held all the country on both sides of the lower 
Mississippi and had the power to control its navigation. The Ken¬ 
tuckians resented any efforts to prevent them using the river for traffic 
and travel. John Jay, Secretary of Foreign Affairs, and the Spanish 
envoy had conversations concerning the closing of the Mississippi for 
twenty-five years, but no action was taken, 


STATEHOOD 


109 


their goods over the long and rugged roads to and from 
the Eastern States, and that the closing of the Mis¬ 
sissippi would consequently destroy their industries 
and commerce. Indian depredations also continued, 
and either through weakness or indifference, neither 
Virginia nor Congress did much for the protection of 
the Kentucky colonies. Furthermore, the Kentuckians 
were not allowed to make military expeditions against 
the Indians without the consent of Virginia. There¬ 
fore, they were compelled to await the attacks of the 
savages and light only a defensive warfare. On one 
occasion a man was killed by Indians in Lincoln 
County. A company was quickly raised that pur¬ 
sued the murderers into Tennessee and defeated them. 
Flushed with victory, they came upon and attacked an¬ 
other party of Indians and killed seven of them. The 
friendly tribe to which the latter party belonged, com¬ 
plained to the Governor of Virginia, who instructed 
Harry Innes, the Attorney General of the District, to 
take necessary steps “to prevent and punish, if pos¬ 
sible, all unjust violences.’ ’ This just and reasonable 
order was misunderstood, and as it was passed from 
mouth to mouth it was so exaggerated, that the people 
of Kentucky came to believe that Virginia had actu¬ 
ally forbidden them to protect themselves. These and 
many other incidents were used by the enemies of 
Virginia to inflame the Kentuckians against the 
mother State. To solve these problems satisfactorily 
to Virginia and the Kentuckians became the work of 
all the conventions that were to follow. 

An Address to the People.— The petition to Virginia, 
that was passed by the second convention, though rea- 


110 


KENTUCKY 


sonable and mild in tone, was never delivered. The 
convention, however, gave out an address to the “In¬ 
habitants of the District of Kentucky,’’ which caused 
much debate, and increased the desire to separate from 
the mother State. The “address” is supposed to 
have been written by James Wilkinson, a scholarly 
though unscrupulous man, about whose treasonable 
doings we shall learn later. Some of the reasons set 
forth for separation were,—that many of the Virginia 
laws were oppressive to the people of the Kentucky 
District; that “We have no power to call out the mili¬ 
tia—unless in case of actual invasion”; that we have 
no power to enforce laws or grant pardons, and that 
“We are ignorant of the laws that are passed until a 
long time after they are enacted.” It was further 
declared that tax money was drawn from them to sup¬ 
port the mother State, and that the commercial inter¬ 
ests of Kentucky were different from those of Vir¬ 
ginia. In addition to these things the address set 
forth “That it is expedient and necessary for this 
District to be separated from Virginia and estab¬ 
lished into a sovereign independent State, to be known 
by the name of the 4 Commonwealth of Kentucky. ’ ” 1 
Thus the second convention failed to accomplish the 
purpose for which it had been elected, but with un¬ 
usual caution called for a third convention to ratify 
what had been done. Kentucky desired separation, 
and Virginia did not oppose it. Only a few minor 
conditions stood in the way, but the prudence shown 
by the leaders in both states in bringing about the in- 


1 Quotations are from the resolutions passed by the second convention. 


STATEHOOD 111 

dependence of Kentucky, and her admission into the 
Union, is rare. 

The Third Convention. —The third convention met at 
Danville in August, 1785, and elected Samuel Mc¬ 
Dowell, president, and Thomas Todd, secretary, of 
the convention. 1 The convention was composed of 
thirty representatives. General James Wilkinson, a 
Revolutionary officer who had recently come to Ken¬ 
tucky, contrived by his dazzling eloquence and political 
scheming to have himself elected as a member from 
Fayette County. This convention discarded the mild 
petition that was passed by the previous ‘assembly 
and substituted for it one that was more of a demand 
than a petition. George Muter, Chief Justice of the 
District, and General Harry Innes, District Attorney, 
were appointed to present it to the Virginia Assembly, 
and to use their influence to secure its passage. In 
spite of its tone, the Virginia Assembly received it 
kindly and at once passed the “First Enabling Act,” 
by which Kentucky delegates were to be elected to 
meet at Danville in September, 1786, to determine 
whether the people desired to separate from Virginia 
and form a new State. 

The First Enabling Act. —This “First Enabling Act” 
recommended separation, and provided that “The 
free male inhabitants” of the seven counties 2 3 of the 
District of Kentucky should elect representatives to 
meet at Danville, the fourth Monday in September, 

1 Samuel McDowell and Thomas Todd were elected president and 

secretary, respectively, of each of the ten conventions that were held. 

3 The counties that composed the District at this time were Jefferson, 
Fayette, Lincoln, Nelson, Bourbon, Mercer and Madison. 


112 


KENTUCKY 


1786, to determine whether it was the will of the 
people to become an independent State. It further 
provided that the new State should assume a part of 
the public debt of Virginia, that the private rights of 
citizens derived under the laws of Virginia should re¬ 
main secure, and that equal taxation and equal security 
of all property rights be insured to the people. All 
land titles made prior to 1788 were to remain valid, 
the Ohio to be kept open to free navigation, and all 
disputes which might arise between Kentucky and 
Virginia to he submitted to arbitration. The 4 ‘En¬ 
abling Act” further provided, that if the convention 
should decide in favor of separation, then it should 
fix a date, prior to September 1, 1787, when Virginia’s 
authority over the Kentucky District would cease, 
provided that the United States Congress should con¬ 
sent to the separation, and agree to admit the new 
State into the Federal Union. The conditions imposed 
by Virginia were fair and reasonable but they required 
delay. The majority of the people recognized the 
sense and justice of the requirements of the mother 
State but there were many who were eager for im¬ 
mediate separation, and who sought to stir up oppo¬ 
sition. 

Court Party and Country Party. —The leader of the 
opposition was James Wilkinson, and the party he 
represented became known as the “Court party” on 
account of the official positions held by its leaders. 
Those opposed to hasty action were led by Humphrey 
Marshall and became known as the “Country party.” 
These leaders were opposing candidates for election 
to the fourth convention from Fayette County. Wil- 


STATEHOOD 


113 


kinson urged the people to disregard the act of Vir¬ 
ginia, and to declare their independence at once, but 
Marshall counselled calm and considerate action. By 
his brilliant oratory, his pleasing personality, and by 
fraud, his enemies declared, Wilkinson was elected. 

The reader should remember that at this time, 1787, 
the new National Constitution had not been adopted, 
that the National Government was new, untried and 
hesitant. Hotly debated political ideals were numer¬ 
ous but unorganized. These were days of govern¬ 
ment beginnings, state and national, and we must not 
wonder that action came so slowly. The political 
pathfinders of the time were blazing new trails, and 
uncertain of their course. In time, as we shall see 
in the next chapter, the political woes of Kentucky 
passed, and she proudly entered the Union. 


QUESTIONS AND SUGGESTIONS. 

What is meant by the “Critical Period” in our nation’s history? 
Why did Kentucky desire independent statehood? Why were the 
several conventions called? What caused the discontent of the people? 
Why did the Kentuckians wish tc control the Mississippi River? Tell 
what was given out by the second convention in its address to the 
people. What did the third convention do? What was the first en¬ 
abling act? Why did the people and their leaders hesitate so long in 
setting up a government? 


CHAPTEK XX 

KENTUCKY ENTERS THE UNION 

When the time set for the meeting of the fourth 
convention arrived, many of the delegates were absent 
with Clark and Logan on expeditions against the In¬ 
dians. 1 When the delegates met it was found that 
“a number sufficient to proceed to business could not 
be had.” Those who did meet chose John Marshall, 
afterwards the “Great Chief Justice,” to present to 
the Virginia Assembly the nature of their unfortunate 
situation and to ask for a change in the conditions that 
it was now too late to fulfill. 

The Second Enabling Act.— Marshall urged the 
request of the Kentuckians but it was not granted. 
Instead, however, a “Second Enabling Act” was 
passed by the Virginia Assembly renewing Virginia’s 
assent to separation, but requiring the re-election of 
delegates to another convention, and fixing the time 
for the separation to take place January 1, 1789, pro¬ 
vided Congress should agree, prior to July 4, 1788, to 
receive Kentucky into the Union. It is plain that 
Virginia was willing to the separation of Kentucky, 
provided she agreed to enter the Union, and that Con¬ 
gress would admit her. This wise and patriotic policy 
of the mother State, however, caused still further de¬ 
lay and produced a murmur of anger and impatience 
in Kentucky. But a majority of the people submitted 

1 See Chapter XXI. Also “Kentucky in the Nation’s History,” Mc- 
Elroy, p. 130. 


114 


ENTERING THE UNION 115 

patiently rather than to violate the law and incur the 
ill will of Virginia. 

The Fourth Convention. —When a quorum of the 
fourth convention finally got together in January, 1787, 
it was found that the “Second Enabling Act” had de¬ 
prived them of all authority to act, by requiring the re- 
election of delegates the 
following August. Realiz¬ 
ing that they were without 
authority to act, and that 
the proposed separation 
from Virginia had to be 
postponed, they disbanded 
in anger and returned to 
their homes. Three years 
had passed and four con¬ 
ventions had assembled 
since the people had begun 
to clamor for statehood, 
but the desired goal seemed 
as far away as ever. A 
general murmur of discontent arose throughout the 
ehtire District. 

Disloyal Busybodies.— James Wilkinson and other 
political busybodies advised more boldly than ever, 
“an immediate declaration of independence,” regard¬ 
less of the wishes of Virginia or Congress. The in¬ 
trigue with Spain, Indian depredations, the proposal 
of Jay to close the Mississippi to navigation, and the 
delays imposed by Virginia created great unrest 
among the people. In spite of designing enemies and 
many disappointments, however, the patriotism and 





116 KENTUCKY 

good sense of the Kentuckians prevailed and saved the 
State from dangerous political blunders. 

The Fifth Convention.—The re-elected delegates to 
the fifth convention met in September, 1787, and 
unanimously decided that- it was ‘ ‘ expedient for and 
the will of the good people of the District” to be sep¬ 
arated from Virginia according to conditions required 
by its Legislature. It adopted a petition to Congress 
asking admission into the Union, and secured from 
Virginia the appointment of John Brown as the first 
Congressional delegate of the District, to deliver the 
petition. 

The Delays of Congress.—Now the “Old Congress” 
was in confusion while the adoption of the “New Con¬ 
stitution” was proceeding in the several states. So it 
came about that the admission of Kentucky did not 
come before the Old Congress until it was too late to 
act upon it by the 4th of July, as required by the 
“Second Enabling Act.” Consequently, Kentucky’s 
petition for admission into the Union was referred to 
the Congress that was being organized under the “New 
Roof.” 1 

The Sixth Convention.—The delegates to the sixth 

convention, whose duty it was to form a State Consti¬ 
tution, met at Danville, July 28, 1788. Brown reported 
to this convention that, in spite of his best efforts, his 
mission had failed. He openly charged the New Eng¬ 
land States with the delay, because, he said, they were 
unwilling to further increase southern representation 
in Congress. He declared that this jealousy would con- 

1 The Old and New Constitutions were popularly called the “Old 
Roof” and the “New Roof .” 


117 


ENTERING THE UNION 

tinue, that Kentucky, as a member of the Union, would 
not be secure in her rights with Spain, and, therefore, 
she should “ erect herself into an independent govern¬ 
ment. ” He said that the Spanish minister “had 
authority to grant to the people of Kentucky” cer¬ 
tain privileges “on terms of mutual advantage, if they 
would erect themselves into an independent state 
. . . but that this privilege can never be extended to 
them while a part of the United States. ...” Fac¬ 
ing another delay, and the increasing discontent of the 
people, members of the convention were uncertain as 
to the best course to pursue. They had set about the 
framing of a constitution for Kentucky preparatory 
to entering the Union, only to learn that Congress had 
not considered their petition. After days of earnest 
debate, a resolution was passed recommending the 
election of five delegates from each County. These 
were to meet at Danville the following November to 
consider the admission of the Kentucky District, as an 
independent member of the Union, and to form a con¬ 
stitution for its government. These delays were used 
by members of the Court party to inflame the people 
against Virginia and the Federal Government. 

Loyalty of the People.— In spite of the zeal of the 
leaders of the Court party, and in spite of the delays 
and the intrigues of Spanish and British agents, the 
patriotism and good sense of the Kentucky people 
prevailed in the election of loyal delegates to the 
seventh convention. By his avowal of loyalty to the 
people, and his pretended devotion to their interests, 
Wilkinson contrived to have himself elected as a mem¬ 
ber from Fayette County. 


118 


KENTUCKY 


The Seventh Convention.— The newly elected delegates 
to the seventh convention met in Danville in Novem¬ 
ber. The assembly was composed of members of both 
the Court party and the Country party. Wilkinson 
opened the debate and declared that there was but one 
way to obtain state independence, and that way was 
to set np a separate, independent State without the 
consent of Virginia or of Congress. He was granted 
permission to “read an essay” on the navigation of 
the Mississippi, in which he set forth the rights of 
the Western people to the use of this waterway, and 
declared that Spain would grant it to Kentucky as an 
independent State but not as a member of the Union. 
He said the prosperity of Kentucky depended upon the 
navigation of the Mississippi, and that Brown had 
“information of the first importance” from the 
Spanish Minister, Gardoqui, which he would furnish 
to the convention if desired. Brown then arose and 
declared that he could not disclose what had occurred 
in private, but that he would say, “provided we are 
unanimous, everything we wish for is within our 
reach.” Wilkinson closed his speech by declaring that 
if Spain should fail to treat with them, England stood 
ready to assist them in securing their rights. Abun¬ 
dant evidence exists of a deep plot among some of the 
leaders of the Court party, which, had it prevailed, 
would have been disgraceful to the name and 
disastrous to the welfare of Kentucky. The delegates 
were, however, by no means “unanimous” in their 
opinions. A vote of thanks was extended to Wilkinson 
for his “essay,” but the delegates and the people of 
Kentucky were generally loyal, and refused to act 


ENTERING THE UNION 


119 


without the consent of Virginia and Congress. After 
passing a resolution providing for the appointment of 
“a committee to draw up a decent and respectful ad¬ 
dress to the people of Virginia, for obtaining the in¬ 
dependence of the District of Kentucky agreeable to 
the late resolutions and recommendations of Con¬ 
gress,” the seventh convention adjourned. Notwith¬ 
standing the intrigues of the leaders of the Court party 
and many provoking delays, the address to Virginia 
was “decent and respectful.” Doubtless this phrase 
was purposely chosen by its authors as a just rebuke 
to the scheming leader of the Court party. 

The Third Enabling Act.—When the Virginia Assem¬ 
bly learned that the old Confederate Congress had 
not acted upon the petition of the District of Kentucky, 
it passed a “Third Enabling Act,” showing clearly 
that Virginia did not object to the separation of Ken¬ 
tucky as soon as possible. This act provided, however, 
that the new State should pay “a portion of the do¬ 
mestic debt of Virginia then existing,” which was in¬ 
curred by military expeditions for the benefit of Ken¬ 
tucky. It also provided that the State should depend 
“upon Virginia as to the time for completing the titles 
and surveys to lands given to officers and soldiers of 
Virginia.” 1 It made provisions for another conven¬ 
tion to meet at Danville on the third Monday in July, 
1789, to consider the advisability of separation upon 
the conditions set forth, and to provide for a ninth 
convention to frame a Constitution. 

1 Many Virginia soldiers of the French and Indian War and of the 
Revolution had been granted lands in Kentucky by the mother State. 
Virginia, rightly, desired to make the titles of these lands secure to her 
soldier citizens. 


120 


KENTUCKY 


The Eighth Convention.—The eighth convention met 
at Danville July 20, and took up the question of sepa¬ 
ration. It passed resolutions to be sent to Virginia 
protesting against the two new conditions mentioned 
above, and asked that they be withdrawn, and that the 
terms of separation be made 4 4 equal to those formerly 
offered by Virginia, and agreed to on the part of the 
said District.’’ 

The Fourth Enabling Act.—The Virginia Assembly re¬ 
garded the new conditions as just, but repealed them 
and provided for a “Fourth Enabling Act” which con¬ 
tained about the same conditions laid down in the first 
two. It further provided for a ninth convention to 
meet at Danville on July 26, 1790, to decide “whether 
it is expedient and the will of the good people of the 
District,” upon the conditions set forth, that Kentucky 
should become a separate State. If this convention 
should accept these conditions, it was to arrange for 
a tenth assembly which should frame a Constitution. 

The Ninth Convention.—The ninth convention met at 
Danville at the time required and accepted the condi¬ 
tions laid down by the mother State. It drew up an 
address to Virginia announcing its acceptance of the 
conditions, and asked her aid in obtaining the admis¬ 
sion of Kentucky into the Union. 

Congress Acts.—In the meantime, the “Old Con¬ 
gress” had given place to the New, Washington had 
been elected President and a strong Federal Constitu¬ 
tion had been adopted. James Marshall prepared a 
memorial address to “The President of the United 
States and to Congress” which expressed a warm at¬ 
tachment to the Federal Government, and asked that 




ENTERING THE UNION 


121 


Kentucky be admitted into the Union within the time 
prescribed by Virginia. After adopting this memorial, 
and providing for the election of the tenth convention 
to choose officers, frame a Constitution, and provide 
laws to remain in force until the new legislature should 
alter or repeal them, the ninth convention adjourned. 
Shortly afterwards, Washington strongly recom¬ 
mended the admission of Kentucky and Congress acted. 

The Tenth Convention.—Kentucky Enters the Union.— 
On February 4, 1791, an act to admit the State into the 
Union June 1,1792, was passed by Congress and signed 
by President Washington. The tenth and last conven¬ 
tion met at Danville April 3, 1792, to form a consti¬ 
tution for the new Commonwealth, and on June 1, ' 
Kentucky, “The Pioneer State of the West,” entered 
the Union. Thus after years of waiting and many pro¬ 
voking delays, and not a little treason on the part of 
some brilliant leaders, Kentucky became the fifteenth 
State to enroll under the Stars and Stripes; and to 
this flag of freemen, born of patriots ’ blood amidst 
the crash of battle, she has ever remained true. 

“Let mightier deeds be thine! Arise! 

Let all the world behold thee set 

A constellation in the skies 

Where all thy sister stars are met! ’ ’ 

—Madison Cawein, ; ‘ Kentucky. ’ ’ 


QUESTIONS AND SUGGESTIONS. 

What hindered the meeting of the fourth convention*? What was 
the second enabling act and why was it passed? What was done by 
the fourth convention? What was the situation in Congress and how 
did it affect the affairs of Kentucky? Tell what was done by each of 
the remaining conventions. Describe the third and fourth enabling acts. 
What was the purpose of the tenth convention? When did Kentucky 
enter the Union? 


CHAPTER XXI 


SIDELIGHTS ON KENTUCKY’S STRUGGLE 
FOR STATEHOOD 

Kentucky’s Part in the Revolution.— The story of 
Kentucky’s struggle for statehood has swept us over 
important matters which we must now turn back to 
consider. When the treaty of peace that closed the 
war with Great Britain was signed at Paris in T783, 
the Kentucky people were overjoyed, for they had 
reasons to believe that the British posts in the North¬ 
west would be given up at once, and that Indian hos¬ 
tilities would cease. But upon various pretexts these 
posts were still held, and British agents still secretly 
encouraged Indian depredations on the Kentucky 
settlements. Furthermore, the Federal Government 
was young and untried, and its weak policy toward 
foreign nations, and its neglect of the border colonies 
caused much anger and disappointment. For years, 
French, Spanish, and even British secret agents were 
engaged in schemes for separating the West, especially 
Kentucky, from the Union. France had assisted the 
Americans more because of her desire to injure Eng¬ 
land than on account of her love of the Colonies; she 
now secretly planned to limit the boundary of the 
United States to the territory east of the Alleghenies. 
However, the great French patriot, Lafayette, and 
many other Frenchmen gave a noble and unselfish 

122 


STRUGGLE FOR STATEHOOD 


123 


service to the cause of American Independence that 
justly won the warm gratitude of the people. 

Spain controlled the navigation of the lower Missis¬ 
sippi and prevented the Kentucky people from using 
it for travel and for transporting their merchandise 
to and from market. During the trying years of the 
Revolution the Kentuckians, unaided, founded their 
homes in the solitudes of the wilderness. They had 
stood guard at the back door of the eastern states and 
warded oft many savage blows that would otherwise 
have fallen upon the border settlements of Virginia 
and Pennsylvania. Many who now lived in the State 
had fought with Clark to conquer and hold the North¬ 
west Territory, or had followed the gallant Shelby in 
the decisive and bloody battle of King’s Mountain. 1 

M 

1 Colonel Ferguson, who commanded the left wing of Cornwallis ' 
army, threatened to hang the border patriots of the Watauga and 
Holston region unless they submitted to the British. The threat 
aroused the backwoodsmen to action. Isaac Shelby conceived a plan 
to attack Ferguson. Couriers were sent in every direction to call the 
backwoods riflemen to arms. Speedier than the bearers of the fiery 
cross of the Highlands these messengers rode from valley to valley, 
across mountains and streams, calling together Campbell, McDowell, 
Sevier, Cleveland, and their followers. The united clans pursued the 
retreating Ferguson night and day through fair and foul weather, 
leaving behind many of the foot-soldiers and exhausted horsemen. 
October 7, 1780, they overtook Ferguson strongly entrenched on King’s 
Mountain, North Carolina, and surrounded him. The Americans and 
British were each about a thousand strong. The patriots remembering 
the slaughter of Buford and his men by Tarleton, after they had sur¬ 
rendered, cried, “Remember Buford,” pressed forward and poured 
into the British a deadly rifle fire. “Every man be his own officer” 
and “shoot like hell, and fight like devils,” cried Colonel Campbell. 
“Give them the bayonet,” commanded Ferguson; give them “Indian 
play” urged the patriot leaders. Before the British bayonets the 
riflemen fell back, only to return to the bloody attack. In vain Fergu¬ 
son rallied his men, and vain was the call of his silver whistle. Crowded 
to the mountain crest, the British received the concentrated fire of the 


124 


KENTUCKY 


Thousands had forfeited their lives and lay scattered 
in unmarked graves from Cumberland Gap to Vin¬ 
cennes. Yet, in spite of these woes, they had built their 
homes, cleared the lands and established a strong 
colony in a far-off wilderness. Through the deeds of 
this small group of backwoodsmen a permanent hold 
on the West was established, and foreign empires were 
prevented from springing up on our border. A 
favored land was settled and held for thousands of 
Revolutionary soldiers who had lost their fortunes in 
the War of Independence, and whose lives seemed 
dark and unpromising. Their holdings insured the 
future development of the great West that finally ex¬ 
tended the boundary of our Nation to the Pacific 
Ocean. The “Wilderness Road” opened the way in 
the nick of time, for over it immediately came the 
Anglo-American pioneer to lay an enduring claim to 
the vast forests and plains of an almost unknown 
region. The hand of Providence seemed to be guiding 
the destiny of a coming Nation. The grip of the Ken¬ 
tucky settlers strengthened the eastern colonies and 
at the same time weakened the hold of Spain in the 
South, and probably prevented the establishment of 
a Spanish empire on our border. In spite of the in¬ 


patriots and were soon compelled to surrender. Few escaped. Three 
hundred lay dead or seriously wounded and the rest were made pris¬ 
oners, while the Americans lost only ninety killed and wounded. The 
“ hornets ” of the border had destroyed the strong left wing of Corn¬ 
wallis’ army. The brave Ferguson lay dead and the notes of his silver 
whistle were forever silenced. The drooping hopes of the Revolutionary 
patriots were revived. For the number engaged, King’s Mountain was 
probably the most bloody and the most important battle of the Revo¬ 
lution. (An interesting account of this battle will be found in “The 
Winning of the West,” by Roosevelt, Vol. Ill, Chapter V.) 


STRUGGLE FOR STATEHOOD 


125 


trigues of secret agents of foreign nations, in spite of 
the disloyalty of some misguided leaders, in spite of 
the neglect of Virginia and the weakness of Congress, 
the people were bone of hone of their brethren of 
the eastern states and remained loyal. 

It was a critical point in the life of Kentucky in 1784 
that a notable man came to the State who was to play 
the villain’s part in her struggle for independence and 
membership in the Union. General James Wilkinson 
was a Revolutionary officer of brilliant attainments 
and pleasing personality. He soon sensed the griev¬ 
ances of the Kentuckians and immediately set about 
adding fuel to the flame of their discontent. Wilkin¬ 
son was the chief agent of a great trading company of 
Philadelphia, but he also became a citizen of Kentucky, 
and from the time of his arrival, took an active interest 
in the affairs of the State. In the summer of 1787, he 
gathered together a large cargo of tobacco, beeves, 
pelts, and other products and went to New Orleans. 
Miro, the Spanish governor, ordered this seized, but 
after Wilkinson explained that the real object of his 
visit was “to obtain the separation of Kentucky from 
the United States, and then to deliver the District thus 
separated into the hands of his Majesty, the King of 
Spain, to become a province of that power,” the Ken¬ 
tuckians were granted all privileges of trade. Wilkin¬ 
son sold his cargo at high prices, was furnished with 
a large sum of money by the Spanish, and returned to 
Kentucky to show the people the power he could wield 
with the Spanish Government, and some of the ad¬ 
vantages they would obtain by becoming Spanish sub¬ 
jects. There are reasons to believe that had he failed 


126 


KENTUCKY 


in this, he was prepared to turn to England for aid in 
the separation of the Kentucky District from the 
Union. Upon his return, he entered Lexington with 
all the pomp and fanfare of royalty, riding in a car¬ 
riage drawn by four horses, and accompanied by at¬ 
tendants. He gave brilliant balls, tine dinners, and 
much entertainment to young and old, all of which was 
probably paid for out of his ill-gotten Spanish gold. 
He was the hero of the day, and was loudly praised 
for what he had done for Kentucky. 

Wilkinson’s Associates. —John Brown, Harry Innes, 
and Benjamin Sebastian, who were members of the 
Supreme Court of the Kentucky District, were ac¬ 
cused of giving their support to Wilkinson’s treason¬ 
able schemes. Later, Sebastian was convicted by the 
Kentucky House of Representatives for receiving a 
Spanish pension of two thousand dollars a year. But 
as we have already seen, the patriotism and good sense 
of the Kentucky people prevailed, and the State was 
saved from the day of small things. 4 4 Her interests 
became those of a nation which was bound to suc¬ 
ceed greatly or fail greatly. Her fate was linked for 
weal or for woe with the fate of the mighty 
Republic.” 1 

Failure of Wilkinson’s Treason. —Wilkinson and his 
followers, who were called the Court party, were very 
active in their disloyalty but, fortunately for Kentucky, 
they were in the minority. The Country party, led 
by such far-seeing patriots as the Marshalls and Mc¬ 
Dowells, prevented the disaster that would have fol¬ 
lowed an unlawful separation. The Court party was 

'Roosevelt, “The Winning of the West,” Vol. IV, p. 263. 


STRUGGLE FOR STATEHOOD 


127 


not only in the minority but many members of it were 
against an unlawful separation, so, at no time was 
there great danger of Kentucky making the mistake 
that Tennessee had made in her recent revolutionary 
action. 1 

The first issue of the Kentucky Gazette under the 
management of John and Fielding Bradford was pub¬ 
lished August, 1787. It was the first newspaper 
printed in Kentucky and some of the larger type were 
cut out of dogwood. The printing press had been 
brought down the Ohio River on a flatboat. Through 
its columns, the people were kept informed of the do¬ 
ings of the conventions, besides it gave the meager 
neAVS of that early time. In it were published articles 
for and against the separation of the State from the 
Union. 

Indian Fatalities.—During the period of Kentucky’s 

' 

struggle for statehood, described in previous chapters, 
the Indians continued their depredations causing much 
loss of life and property. From 1783 to 1790 about 
fifteen hundred people fell victims to their cruelty. 
There were no formidable war bands, but small parties 
skulked through the woods and pounced upon hunt¬ 
ing parties and outlying settlements unawares, burn¬ 
ing, murdering, and pillaging. 

Expeditions Against the Indians.—In response to a 
petition to Congress from Virginia in 1786, the Ken- 

1 In 1784, the pioneers of Tennessee attempted to set up an indepen¬ 
dent state to which they gave the name of Franklin. Much confusion 
and some bloodshed followed. A condition bordering on anarchy ex¬ 
isted until 1796, when Tennessee was admitted into the Union. Doubt¬ 
less the mistakes of the Tennesseeans went far toward preventing their 
Kentucky neighbors from making similar blunders. 


128 


KENTUCKY 


tuckians were granted the privilege of protecting them¬ 
selves from the Indians. Accordingly, General George 
Rogers Clark collected an army of a thousand men 
near Louisville to march against the Wabash tribes, 
while Colonel Benjamin Logan proceeded against 
Shawnee towns in Ohio, with about five hundred Ken¬ 
tucky volunteers. The boats dispatched by General 
Clark to convey provisions and ammunition up the 
Wabash to Vincennes were delayed by low water and 
most of the provisions were spoiled. Some of the of¬ 
ficers refused to obey orders and many of the 
volunteers became mutinous and returned home. 
Wounded by the neglect of Virginia to properly recog¬ 
nize his services, pursued by creditors for debts his 
government should have paid, and weakened by in¬ 
temperance, the grand old General lost much of the 
power he once possessed, and consequently lost con¬ 
trol of his army. 1 

Logan’s Victory.— The failure of Clark’s expedition 
was, in part, offset by the expedition led by Logan 
against the Shawnee towns on Mad River. Logan 
marched rapidly against these towns, which had been 
weakened by the absence of most of the warriors who 
had gone against Clark. He killed many of the In¬ 
dians, took numerous prisoners, burned their cabins, 
destroyed their provisions and returned in twenty 
days. 

Dr. Connolly.— By 1788 the sentiment against a vio¬ 
lent separation of the State from Virginia had so de¬ 
veloped that all intrigues and intriguers came under 

1 A full and interesting account of this expedition is given in Mann 
Butler’s “History of Kentucky,” Chapter IX. 


STRUGGLE FOR STATEHOOD 


129 


dangerous suspicion. About this time Dr. John Con¬ 
nolly, a British agent, appeared in Kentucky for the 
announced purpose of looking after some land claims 
of which he said he had been deprived because lie was 
a Tory. These lands had been surveyed for him near 
Louisville in 1773. In fact, however, Connolly’s mis¬ 
sion was to induce Kentucky to separate from the 
Union and place herself under the protection of Great 
Britain. He visited many prominent men of Kentucky 
and talked with them but met with no encouragement. 
When the object of his visit became known, many 
threats were made against him, and he made haste to 
leave the State to avoid the rough vengeance of the 
backwoods patriots. 

The Political Club. —Indian depredations, politics and 
river commerce were the chief topics of the day. These 
and other important questions were ably debated by 
the Danville “Political Club” during the years of its 
existence from 1786 to 1790. Many of the ablest cit¬ 
izens of the Kentucky District belonged to this club, 
and a record of the proceedings, which has been pre¬ 
served, proves that its members were a far-sighted 
people of superior ability. Through its influence much 
good was accomplished. It helped to inform the 
people, and thereby aided the State in obtaining its 
independence and its peaceable admission into the 
Union. 


QUESTIONS AND SUGGESTIONS. 

What was the attitude of Britain, France and Spain to Kentucky 
following the Revolution? In what ways did Kentucky assist in the 


130 


KENTUCKY 


War of Independence? Give an account of the Battle of King’s Moun¬ 
tain. Show how the action of Kentucky affected for all future time 
the development of the West. Give an account of General James 
Wilkinson. Tell about the first Kentucky newspaper. Describe the 
Indian troubles of this time. Give a sketch of Dr. John Connolly. 


CHAPTER XXII 

A REVIEW OF TEN YEARS 

Death of Floyd. —By an act of the Virginia legislature 
in 1783, Jefferson, Fayette, and Lincoln Counties were 
formed into the Kentucky District, and a district court 
was organized. John Floyd, Samuel McDowell, 1 and 
George Muter were appointed judges, and Walker 
Daniel, attorney general. Shortly after his appoint¬ 
ment, Floyd, who had distinguished himself as a fear¬ 
less Indian fighter, and whose name, like that of 
Clark’s, struck terror to the savages, was killed by In¬ 
dians. He and his brother were riding unguardedly 
through the woods in a time of supposed peace when 
they were fired on, and Colonel Floyd was mortally 

1 Judge Samuel McDowell was born of Scotch-Irish parents, and 
came to Kentucky from Virginia in 1784. He served in the French 
and Indian War and had been awarded a large tract of land in Ken¬ 
tucky for his services. He was a Revolutionary Colonel and had an 
important part in the battle of Guilford Courthouse. He was one of 
the judges in the first district court held in Kentucky and presided 
over all the conventions for the admission of Kentucky into the Union. 
He was appointed by President Washington United States judge for 
the State of Kentucky. He died in 1817. He left distinguished 
descendants, among them his son, Dr. Ephraim McDowell, who was a 
pioneer in the field of surgery. 


REVIEW 


131 


wounded. That two other members of this district 
court should meet a similar fate will convey to the 
mind of the reader some idea of the perils that still 
beset pioneer life. 

Other Towns Founded.—The first court was opened at 
a church six miles from Harrodsburg, and one of its 
first acts was to order a log court house and jail to be 
built on the Wilderness Road about ten miles from 
Harrodsburg on what is now the present site of Dan¬ 
ville. This town was named for Walker Daniel, who 
laid it out in 1781. It was favorably located in the 
Blue Grass Region and became the popular meeting 
place of many early conventions. acts of the 

Virginia legislature, Bardstown was established in 
1788, and Paris in 1789; the latter was settled in 
1776 as Houston’s Station, and for a time was called 
Hopewell. 

More Immigrants Arrive.—Broadhead’s Store.—Imme¬ 
diately following the close of the Revolution, streams 
of immigrants came over the Wilderness Road with 
trains of pack-horses bearing their meager supplies. 
Flatboats laden with merchandise and parties of home 
seekers and fortune hunters were constantly landing 
at Maysville and Louisville. These gave new hope to 
the settlers, and added more comfort and security to 
their harsh surroundings. About this time Daniel 
Broadhead, an officer of the Revolution, opened a store 
at Louisville where many kinds of goods were sold. 
Woven cloth, calicoes, sunbonnets, and even silks and 
broadcloths, parasols, and other costly articles that 
had been brought from Philadelphia, found a ready 
market among the pioneers. 


132 


KENTUCKY 


John Filson, a schoolmaster, came to Kentucky from 
Pennsylvania about 1782. Like most of the early 
pioneers, he had been lured to the State by the fame 
of the beautiful country, its delightful climate, and 
fertile soil. He was well educated, fond of roaming, 

and, as some of the old pio¬ 
neers said of him, “ could 
ask more questions than 
everybody and answer few¬ 
er than anybody/ ’ He 
studied the wild landscapes 
and the rivers which flowed 
through them, and made 
note of all he saw and 
heard. Finally, in 1784, he 
published the first history 
of Kentucky and a map of 
the territory. He tells of 
“The Adventures of Colo¬ 
nel Boone,” as narrated by 
the old pioneer himself, 
though in his own florid and 
exaggerated style. His little book made a picture-land 
and paradise of Kentucky, and it doubtless influenced 
many an eastern reader to move into the wilderness. 
Immediately after its publication it was translated into 
French by M. Parraud and published in Paris. In 
partnership with Robert Patterson and Matthias Den¬ 
man he laid off a town on the present site of Cincinnati 
to which was given the fanciful name of Losantiville— 
the city opposite the Licking. About this time, 1788, 
while out surveying he became separated from the rest 






REVIEW 


133 


of the party and was never seen again. He was prob¬ 
ably killed or captured by the Indians. The Filson 
Club of Louisville, the leading historical club of the 
State, is named in his honor. 

Inventions.— As soon as the bold energy of the pio¬ 
neers was relieved from battling against the forest and 
its inhabitants, it naturally turned to the arts of peace. 
From the beginning, the many navigable streams had 
been used as highways, and it was but natural for in¬ 
ventive minds to seek easier methods of propelling the 
heavier craft against the swift currents. John Fitch, 
James Rumsey, and Edward West were three of the 
earliest inventors of steamboats. John Fitch was born 
in Connecticut and came to Kentucky about 1778. One 
day, while watching the swift current of the Ohio 
River, he was impressed with the idea of an invention 
that would lead to a better mode of navigation. 4 ‘He 
retired to his surveyor’s camp, to think; remembering 
that Watt in England was propelling mills by steam, 
he concluded that he could propel boats by the same 
power.” Notwithstanding the lack of sufficient money 
and material, Fitch built several boats which had 
temporary success, making a speed of four to seven 
miles an hour. But the machinery and boilers were too 
light and his boats broke down. After appealing in 
vain to his friends and finally to several governments, 
he became discouraged and abandoned his plans. He 
wrote and sealed up some manuscripts on mechanics; 
these were to be opened thirty years after his death. 
When opened, they told the sad story of his struggles 
and disappointments, and predicted that ‘ ‘ The day will 
come when some more powerful man will get fame and 


134 


KENTUCKY 


riches from my invention; but nobody will believe that 
poor John Fitch can do anything worthy of attention. ” 
His prophecy came true. In less than thirty years 
many steamboats were plowing the streams he had 
navigated in an Indian canoe. In 1813, when Fulton 
sought to enforce his claim as inventor of the steam¬ 
boat, a committee of the New York legislature decided 
“that the boats built by Livingston and Fulton were 
in substance the invention patented to John Fitch in 
1791.” Fitch sought the aid of his government, then 
of England, France, and Spain, but it was all in vain. 
He became discouraged and retired to his land on 
Cox’s creek in Nelson County, where he spent his re¬ 
maining years trying to drown his despair in drink. 
He died in Bardstown in 1798. 1 

Other Inventors.— At the same time that Fitch was at 
work on his invention, James Rumsey, a Virginian, 
who afterwards moved to Kentucky, was also working 
on a steamboat model. Fitcli and Rumsey both ex¬ 
hibited their plans to General Washington in 1784. A 
violent dispute arose between the two inventors as to 
who was first to apply steam in the driving of boats. 
Certain it is that they worked out the same idea about 
the same time, neither knowing anything of the plans 
of the other. It remained for Edward West, another 
Virginian, who moved to Kentucky about 1788, to make 
the first steamboat to navigate Kentucky waters. In 
1794, in the presence of many people, he launched his 
model on a branch of the Elkhorn River. To the de¬ 
light and wonder of all it moved rapidly through the 
water. West was a man of much inventive genius. He 

1 For fuller account see Collins’ “History of Kentucky,” II, p. 648. 


REVIEW 


135 


was a watchmaker and gunsmith, but turned his in¬ 
ventive talent in many directions. He was awarded 
patents on his steamboat, a gunlock, and a nail cutting 
and nail heading machine—the first ever invented. 1 
As a result of his enterprise, Lexington, his resident 
city, exported nails to Cincinnati, Pittsburg, and other 
cities. He died in Lexington in 1827, after a long and 
useful life spent in the service of the state of his 
adoption. 

Pioneer Life Not Favorable to the Arts. —However, 
pioneer life is not favorable to the arts and literary 
pursuits. The people were eager for land, besides they 
had to snatch a living from their harsh surroundings 
while battling against the savages. Even poor John 
Fitch, notwithstanding his zeal for invention, took 
up a thousand acres of land in Nelson County. As 
mentioned elsewhere, most of the Kentucky settlers 
were descendants of the rural people of England, and 
true to their Anglo-Saxon habits they kept their faces 
set westward as colonizers. In Kentucky, they refused 
to live in villages, but in defiance of danger they scat¬ 
tered into the wilderness to settle. Even during the 
time when their mother states were engaged in a life- 
and-death struggle with England, they streamed over 
the mountains in mad haste to possess the land. A 
few came in a spirit of adventure, some for the sport 
and profit in hunting, none in search of gold, but nearly 
all to satisfy a traditional thirst for land. In time, 
this same spirit drove the Kentuckians still farther 
westward and made them colonizers of other states. 
Most of those who were left behind were land holders. 

1 Collins, Vol. II, p. 174. 


136 


KENTUCKY 


Though the oldest state west of the Alleghenies, Ken¬ 
tucky has been outstripped by her sister states of the 
West in commerce and manufacture. Had a different 
class of people, like the settlers of New England, oc¬ 
cupied the territory, the numerous waterways, tine 
timber, abundant minerals and other natural resources 
would doubtless have developed a commercial and 
manufacturing people instead of agriculturists. 


QUESTIONS AND SUGGESTIONS. 

Sketch the lives of John Floyd and Samuel McDowell. When and 
where was the first court opened? What other towns were founded at 
this time? Who was John Filson? Tell about the early inventors 
in Kentucky. Why was pioneer life unfavorable to the arts? How 
did the restless spirit of the early settlers affect the development of 
the State? 


CHAPTER XXIII 

LATER BORDER TROUBLES 

DEFEAT OF HARMAR AND ST. CLAIR 1 

The first regular census of the Kentucky District 
was taken in 1790, showing a population of 73,677. 
When we consider the great distance of Kentucky from 
the eastern states, the many perils and hardships en¬ 
countered by the pioneers, and the fact that the Revo¬ 
lutionary War was in progress during the first eight 
years after settlement, th^ 0 growth in population is 
surprising. By the time of Kentucky’s admission into 
the Union the population had probably increased to 
one hundred thousand. As observed elsewhere, many 
hundreds of Revolutionary soldiers came to the State 
after the close of the war. One historian estimates 
that at this time the population increased at the rate 
of about twelve thousand a year. The Ohio River 
had now become the favorite route to Kentucky, be¬ 
cause it was more convenient for reaching the richest 
lands of the State. The Indians, observing the large 
parties floating down to Kentucky in their flat-bot¬ 
tomed boats, and the rapid settlement of their favorite 
hunting grounds, became more alarmed than ever. 
They now haunted the wooded shores of the Ohio and 
scarcely a boat escaped attack. 

1 See Chapter V, “ Kentucky in the Nation’s History,” McElroy. 

137 


138 


KENTUCKY 


Hesitancy of the Government.— Many settlers had 
abandoned the forts, and pushed farther into the wil¬ 
derness to erect their cabin homes. These became an 
easy prey to skulking bands of Indians. Complaints 
were made to the Federal Government, and assurance 
was given to the people that steps would be taken to 
protect them. The Government had endeavored to re¬ 
strain the backwoodsmen from making an offensive 
warfare against the red men, and by presents, 
promises, and treaties had endeavored to purchase 
peace for them. These overtures had failed, and it 
now became the duty of the Government to protect 
the border people from increasing savage depreda¬ 
tions. Indeed it must be remembered that the newly 
created Government did not understand the im¬ 
portance and future greatness of the West, therefore 
reluctantly consented to the invasion of the Indian 
country. The region east of the Alleghenies seemed 
ample for all time, and many statesmen did not believe 
in a westward expansion. These statesmen favored 
the Indians retaining their lands undisturbed, and in¬ 
dulged the hope of preserving and civilizing them. It 
was a vain hope, for the wild, independent red man of 
the forest refused, under the most favorable oppor¬ 
tunities offered him, to accept civilized ways of think¬ 
ing and living. His contempt for labor and humane 
laws that are necessary to civil progress are against 
the traditions handed down to him for thousands of 
years. Very few of the Indians of today have accepted 
the white man’s civilization. 

Harmar’s Defeat.— But now the time had arrived for 
the regular troops of the National Government to take 


BORDER TROUBLES 


139 


the chief part against the Indian tribes of the North¬ 
west. That the regular officers and soldiers did not 
know how to meet their wily foe in a forest warfare is 
shown by the humiliating defeats that followed. The 
Federal Government placed General Josiah Harmar at 
the head of three hundred and twenty regulars and 
about eleven hundred volunteers. The army as¬ 
sembled at Fort Washington, now the site of Cincin¬ 
nati, September 30, 1790, and from there slowly 
marched against the towns of the Miami Indians. 
Though Harmar was a gallant Revolutionary officer 
he was not a trained Indian tighter; besides, most of 
his army was undisciplined, disorderly, and inclined 
to rejjel against authority. General Harmar yielded 
to the demands of the volunteers in placing Colonel 
Trotter, an incompetent officer, at their head. The 
army supplies were poorly managed; so, the badly or¬ 
ganized expedition was doomed to failure from the 
start. On the 18th of October, Colonel Trotter with 
three hundred men was sent out to locate the Indians. 
After pursuing a small band and killing two he re¬ 
turned home. Greatly angered at Trotter’s conduct, 
Harmar ordered Colonel John Hardin to take com¬ 
mand of the volunteers and to lead some small detach¬ 
ments against the Indians. These were surprised by 
the savages and almost destroyed. The unruly militia 
lost confidence in their leaders and began to desert. 
Had Harmar kept his whole body of troops together 
and delivered a united attack against the Indians, this 
story of defeat might have been one of victory. After 
destroying some towns, crops, and provisions his army 
retreated. Instead of putting an end to savage at- 


140 


KENTUCKY 


tacks, the tribes now banded together and became 
more troublesome than ever. Harmar’s defeat 
aroused many criticisms against the Government, and 
even Knox, the Secretary of War, stated to the Presi¬ 
dent that if the treaties were observed, and the Indians 
kindly treated and paid for their lands, they would 
become attached to the United States. 1 There were 
some statesmen who even recommended that the ter¬ 
ritory west of the Alleghenies be abandoned by the 
settlers. None seemed to fully grasp the meaning of 
the rapidly growing West and the early need of its 
vast stretches of woods and prairies to provide room 
for the onrushing tide of a coming Nation. While 
the Indian was often unjustly and cruelly treatec^ it is 
now easy to see that he never would have given up 
his lands without an appeal to arms. 

The Local War Board.—The Kentuckians were the 
kinsmen of the eastern settlers and the blood-bond 
called for their protection however opposed to war 
the Government might have been. Chafing under the 
recollections of the cowardly conduct of their troops 
under Iiarmar, the Kentuckians determined to “wipe 
away the stain” by independent action against the 
Indians. Accordingly, a number of prominent citizens 
petitioned President Washington to appoint a local 
War Board to take charge of the defense of Kentucky. 
In response to this petition Congress appointed Isaac 
Shelby, Harry Innes, John Brown, and Benjamin 
Logan on this board and authorized it to make two 
expeditions against the Wabash tribes. 

Roosevelt, “The Winning of the West,” Vol. V, p. 132. 


BORDER TROUBLES 


141 


Expedition Against the Wabash Tribes.—In the mean¬ 
time, in spite of the protests of John Brown, Ken¬ 
tucky’s only Congressional delegate, General Arthur 
St. Clair had been appointed commander of the 
United States army in the West. Brown declared that 
St. Clair’s appointment 
would be offensive to the 
Kentucky people, not only 
because they mistrusted his 
military ability, but be¬ 
cause he was known to have 
but little sympathy for the 
backwoodsmen. While Gen¬ 
eral* St. Clair was slowly 
organizing his proposed ex^ 
pedition against the Miami 
Indians, two expeditions 
were planned by the local 
War Board against the Wa¬ 
bash tribes. These expedi¬ 
tions were led by General 
Charles Scott and Colonel James Wilkinson, and were 
composed of mounted volunteers who were trained 
Indian fighters. In a short time they successfully at¬ 
tacked and defeated the Wabash tribes, burned their 
towns and destroyed their growing crops. Disheart¬ 
ened by these defeats, the Wabash Indians gave no aid 
to the Miami tribes when they were attacked later by 
the Americans under St. Clair. 

St. Clair’s Defeat.—St. Clair was an honorable man 
and a brave officer, but he was old, broken in health, 
and unfit for the responsibilities of a frightful border 






142 


KENTUCKY 


warfare. His appointment so displeased the Ken¬ 
tuckians, who had learned to distrust the regular army 
officers, that none volunteered; consequently, about 
one thousand men were pressed into reluctant service. 
These were placed under the command of Colonel 
William Oldham, who led his sullen and unwilling band 
to Fort Washington, now the site of Cincinnati, to join 
St. Clair’s regulars. St. Clair was not supported by 
the Government as he should have been. He had few 
regulars, the rest were untrained, dissatisfied and un¬ 
ruly militia. On October 1, 1791, the army, amount¬ 
ing now to about three thousand men, poorly organ¬ 
ized, left Fort Washington and began its slow march 
through deep woods and over wet prairies. The prog¬ 
ress of the army was slow and discouraging, and one 
band after another deserted, as opportunity offered. 
The Indians were well informed of the movements of 
the army and had ample time to prepare an attack. 
St. Clair had been warned by Washington against the 
chance of a surprise, but the General seemed ignorant 
of the dangers which surrounded him, else indifferent 
to them. On the morning of October 4, 1791, while the 
army, now reduced by desertion to about fourteen 
hundred men, was encamped on the eastern fork of the 
Wabash River it was suddenly attacked from all sides. 
A furious battle followed. The Indians poured into 
the crowded ranks of the Americans an incessant fire 
as they crept, unseen, closer and closer. Colonel Old¬ 
ham was killed early in the action while bravely rally¬ 
ing his men. Chiefs and warriors of the Shawnees, 
Wyandots, Delawares, and Miamis, probably outnum¬ 
bering the whites, fought with utmost cunning and 


BORDER TROUBLES 


143 


bravery. Although St. Clair stood his ground for some 
time and charged the enemy repeatedly, although he 
had his clothing pierced by many Indian bullets, a 
bloody defeat followed. General Thomas Butler, St. 
Clair’s able second, was severely wounded early in 
the battle, but kept up the tight until he was killed. 
After two hours of desperate fighting the Americans 
broke into a wild panic, followed by the usual pursuit 
and savage slaughter. About seventy officers and 
seven hundred soldiers were killed or wounded. 

A Bitter Lesson.—When Washington learned of St. 
Clair’s defeat he exclaimed, “He went off with that 
last solemn warning thrown into his ears, and yet to 
suffer that army to be cut to pieces, hacked, butchered, 
tomahawked by a surprise, the very thing I guarded 
him against! 0 God, 0 God, he’s worse than a mur¬ 
derer!” But finally calming himself, Washington re¬ 
marked, “ General St. Clair shall have justice ... he 
shall have full justice.” On account of his courage 
and high character, St. Clair was held guiltless by 
both Washington and Congress, though the President 
and Congress did not escape the censure of the people. 
It was a bitter lesson, but the disaster of Harmar 
and St. Clair had taught the Government at Wash¬ 
ington the power of its western foes, and the neces¬ 
sity of selecting officers and soldiers, trained in Indian 
warfare, to overcome them. 


144 


KENTUCKY 


QUESTIONS AND SUGGESTIONS. 

How do you explain the rapid increase in population in Kentucky at 
this time? How do you explain the weak and hesitating attitude of 
the National Government toward Kentucky? Give an account of Har- 
mar’s defeat. Why was a Local War Board appointed? Give an ac¬ 
count of St. Clair’s expedition. Explain why these disasters occurred. 
How did President Washington regard St. Clair’s defeat? What 
lesson did the Government learn? 



The First Seal of Kentucky 



PERIOD OF COMMONWEALTH 


CHAPTER XXIV 

» 

SETTING UP THE STATE GOVERNMENT 

THE INDIANS SUBDUED 

The constitution which was framed by the tenth con¬ 
vention that met at Danville, April 19, 1792, was not 
submitted to the popular vote but it met with the gen¬ 
eral approval of the people. While it was modeled 
after the constitution of the United States, it followed 
the plan of a democracy rather than that of a republic. 
The rights of the individual, and the spirit of liberty 
were carefully safeguarded by many of its provisions. 
Like that of the United States Government it provided 
for three departments—legislative, executive and 
judicial. 

Some Provisions of the Constitution.—The constitution 
required that the first meeting of the general assembly 
should be held at Lexington, June 4, 1792, for the pur¬ 
pose of organizing a state government, and the passing 
of state laws. It guaranteed suffrage to all white, 
male citizens, twenty-one years of age, who had not 
been deprived of the right by crime. 1 It also es¬ 
tablished numbers as a basis of representation. The 

1 ‘ 1 This is probably the first experiment of manhood suffrage in any 
modern State.”—Shaler, “Kentucky,” p. 122. 

145 


146 


KENTUCKY 


governor and senators were chosen for four years by 
a college of electors. The representatives were elected 
for one year by the people. The judges of the supreme 
court and also those of the lower courts were nomi¬ 
nated by the Senate and appointed by the governor, and 
held office during good behavior. Following an Eng- 



George Washington Isaac Shelby 

Our First President Kentucky’s First Governor 


lish custom, founded on prejudice, ministers of the 
gospel were not permitted to be members of the legis¬ 
lature. Commerce in slaves was prohibited, and it 
was recommended to the legislature that it pass laws 
permitting slaves to be freed, provided they should 
not become dependents on public charity. The su¬ 
preme court was given original and final authority in 






STATE GOVERNMENT 


147 


deciding all land cases. This was done in order to 
clear the land titles impartially, and to fix the 
boundaries of many conflicting claims. However, this 
provision was found too burdensome to be practical 
and was soon abandoned. Unfortunately, the consti¬ 
tution made no provision for a public school system, 
nor was there any made for many years afterward. 
This fact explains, in part, the reason that Kentucky 
has fallen behind many of its younger sister states in 
educational standing. 

Immediately following the adoption of the constitu¬ 
tion General Isaac Shelby, who had played an im¬ 
portant part in the early struggles of the State, was 
elected governor. He had rendered a brave and signal 
service in the battle of Point Pleasant, and his courage 
and patriotism had been proven upon many battle 
fields of the Revolution. He had planned and helped 
to win the battle of King’s Mountain, which was one 
of the most important and heroic actions in the War 
of Independence. 1 Shelby was as wise in council as 
he was brave in action, and his choice as the first gov¬ 
ernor of Kentucky was an honor and a blessing to the 
new State. 

The governor, escorted by a troop of horsemen, 
reached Lexington, the first capitol of the State, June 
4, 1792. He was received with all the pomp and mil¬ 
itary display the time and place could array. The 
people from other settlements crowded into the log- 
cabin town and thronged the unpaved streets, shouting 
a boisterous welcome to their first governor. The fir¬ 
ing of cannon, the cracking of flint locks, and the beat- 

1 See footnote, p. 123. 


148 


KENTUCKY 


ing of drums added their noisy celebration to the first 
inaugural ceremonies west of the Alleghenies. The 
years of impatient waiting for independent statehood 
were rewarded, and the time for the founding of their 
own government had arrived—their joy was un¬ 
bounded. John Bradford, editor of the Kentucky 
Gazette, delivered the welcome address. After the 
oath of office was administered to the governor, he 
was escorted to his chamber in the Sheaf of Wheat 
Inn, with all the courtly display possible on a back- 
woods occasion. No prince ever came to his realm 
with more pride and honor than the new governor, 
who came to his log-built mansion; no people ever be¬ 
stowed their confidence more worthily. The occasion 
presented many strange contrasts. The pioneer land 
holder, the uncouth backwoodsman, the lately arrived 
Revolutionary veteran, and the accomplished officer 
and statesman met upon newly settled soil amid the 
most primitive surroundings. Hunting shirts, buck¬ 
skin breeches, and drab linsey-woolsey, contrasted 
strangely with broadcloth and many fabrics of gaudy 
colors—the fashions of the East and the rude arts of 
the West met in honor of the occasion. A single im¬ 
pulse had drawn together the extremes of civilization 
to celebrate the setting up of the government of a 
state but recently born out of the wilderness. Later 
in the day Governor Shelby appointed James Brown, 
Secretary of State, and George Nicholas, Attorney 
General. 

The First Legislature.—On June 6, the legislature 
assembled. Alexander Scott Bullitt was chosen speaker 
for the Senate, and Robert Breckenridge speaker for 


STATE GOVERNMENT 


149 


the House of Representatives. Much after the fashion 
of English Kings, the governor appeared in person 
at the door of the Senate chamber accompanied by his 
Secretary of State. The Speaker of the Senate met 
him at the door and conducted him to his seat. Then 
the governor addressed the two houses, gave each a 



Copyrighted, Keystone. 

Inauguration of Governor Shelby 

copy of his address and retired, leaving the legislature 
to its work of enacting laws for the new State. The 
legislature elected John Brown and John Edwards to 
represent the new Commonwealth in the United States 
Senate, and the governor appointed George Muter, 
Chief Justice, and Caleb Wallace and Benjamin 
Sebastian, Associate Justices of the Court of Appeals. 

By an act of the legislature December 20, 1792, the 
first seal of Kentucky was ordered “to be engraved 
with the device: Two friends embracing, with the name 
of the state over their heads, and round about them 



150 


KENTUCKY 


the following motto, ‘ United we stand, divided we 
fall.’ ” The necessities of these pioneer days had so 
welded together the interests and sympathies of the 
people that it was only natural that they should select 
such an appropriate device and motto. 



The Holmes House 

This house was erected by Andrew Holmes and occupied in 1793, 
as the second temporary State House. It was purchased from Holmes 
by General James Wilkinson, and he sold it to James Love who kept 
tavern there. The “Love House,“ as it became known, 

. . . “was the mecca in that early day, 

Of the wise and distinguished that journeyed this way.” 

In it was preached the first sermon in Frankfort. It was the head¬ 
quarters of Aaron Burr when in Frankfort, and in a rear room of it 
were planned the details of his conspiracy. (See “Register, Kentucky 
Historical Society, “ Vol. 10, No. 30.) 












STATE GOVERNMENT 


151 


A committee appointed by the legislature to locate 
a permanent capitol met December 5, and resolved 
that “Frankfort was the most proper place for the seat 
of government.” This report was approved, and on 
December 22, 1792, the first legislature adjourned “to 
hold its next session in the house of Andrew Holmes 
at Frankfort on the Kentucky River.” A new stone 



First Permanent State House 


state house and a governor’s mansion were erected at 
Frankfort and were occupied for the first time in 
November, 1794. This picturesque city has ever since 
remained the seat of the State Capitol. 

The Indians Refuse to Make Treaty.—The expeditions 
of Harmar and St. Clair against the Indians having 
failed, the red men still remained unsubdued. Nuim 




















































152 KENTUCKY 

erous small bands of prowling savages continued their 
murderous attacks upon outlying settlers. Two mes¬ 
sengers, John Hardin, and Major Truman, who had 
been sent to seek a peace parley with the Indians in 
northwest Ohio, had been murdered. Many boats on 
the Ohio were attacked, and British agents were 
known to be furnishing the savages with guns and 
ammunition to carry on these depredations against 
the Americans. Smarting under the defeats they had 
suffered, and vexed by the impudence of the British 
in still holding many posts that should have been 
given up, the Kentuckians ceased to hope for peace by 
treaty and were now eager to make war upon their 
enemies. 

“Mad Anthony” Wayne.—In the meantime, General 
Anthony Wayne, popularly called 44 Mad Anthony,’’ 
had succeeded St. Clair as commander of the army of 
the Northwest. He called on Kentucky for troops, 
but, owing to the lack of confidence in the regular 
army officers, none volunteered. Governor Shelby, 
therefore, ordered a draft of one thousand mounted 
militia, and placed them under the command of Gen¬ 
eral Charles Scott. These joined General Wayne’s 
army about eighty miles north of Cincinnati, and be¬ 
gan to prepare for the campaign. However, upon the 
approach of winter the regular troops went into win¬ 
ter quarters at Port Greenville and the Kentucky 
militia was disbanded. 

Wayne Marches Against the Indians.—Although the 

campaign against the red men was temporarily 
abandoned, Wayne had won the confidence of ti^e Ken¬ 
tuckians, so that the following summer General Scott 


STATE GOVERNMENT 


153 


readily raised sixteen hundred volunteers and joined 
Wayne at Fort Greenville. The regulars and militia 
now amounted to about three thousand men. The 
army took up its march toward Fort Recovery. Being 
warned by a worthless deserter by the name of New¬ 
man, the Indians fled to a point on the Miami River 
almost under the guns of a British Fort. Wayne ad¬ 
vanced until near the Indians ’ retreat and built a fort 
which he named, in contempt for the British post, Fort 
Defiance. From Fort Defiance he sent peace proposals 
to the Indians, who asked for ten days to consider 
them, but knowing their tactics, Wayne did not wait 
but advanced rapidly and cautiously against them. 

Battle of Fallen Timbers.—On August 20, 1794, the 
Americans came upon the enemy “posted in a thick 
brushwood encumbered with fallen timber, the effect 
of a hurricane.” Here the advance guard was hurled 
back by a heavy fire from the hidden enemy. Wayne, 
however, was prepared for battle and skillfully 
planned the attack. His regulars charged the enemy 
with bayonets and the mounted backwoodsmen swiftly 
moved to surround him. In forty minutes the Indians 
were defeated and thrown into a mad rout. The Amer¬ 
icans pursued them for several miles, killing and cap¬ 
turing many of them. Thus was won a decisive vic¬ 
tory, appropriately called The Battle of Fallen Tim¬ 
bers. The American losses were thirty-three killed 
and one hundred wounded, but the losses of the enemy 
were much greater. Among the slain were eight 
Wyandot chiefs and a number of white men in British 
service. The battle greatly angered Major Campbell, 
who was in command of the British Fort, and he de- 


154 


KENTUCKY 


manded of Wayne why the Americans should dare to 
encamp under the mouth of His Majesty’s Cannon. 
Wayne replied “that the affair of yesterday might 
well inform him,” and in return demanded why 
the British Fort had been erected on American ter¬ 
ritory. Happily, neither officer acted rashly, for both 
knew that an open breach now meant a bloody war. 
Wayne’s army burned the Indian towns, and de¬ 
stroyed the crops for many miles around. The spirit 
of the red men was so completely broken that they 
soon sued for peace. It was the most important vic¬ 
tory ever won over the Indians of the Northwest, “for 
it brought about the first lasting peace on the border, 
and put an end to the bloody turmoil of forty years’ 
fighting. It was one of the most striking and weighty 
feats in the winning of the West.” 1 


QUESTIONS AND SUGGESTIONS. 

When was the first State Constitution adopted? Mention some of 
its provision. Give an account of the inauguration of Governor Shelby. 
Tell about the meeting of the first Legislature. Describe the first seal 
of Kentucky. Give . an account of Wayne’s campaign against the 
Indians. Tell about the battle of Fallen Timbers. What does Mr. 
Roosevelt say concerning this battle? 

1 Roosevelt, “The Winning of the West,” Vol. V, p. 219. 


CHAPTER XXV 


THE BIG SANDY VALLEY AND OTHER 

SETTLEMENTS 

We must now turn our attention to the development 
of other portions of Kentucky. Among the first sec¬ 
tions of the State to be explored was the valley of 
the Big Sandy. The permanent settlement of this sec¬ 
tion was delayed many years because it was more 
rugged and difficult to reach than the fertile open 
stretches of the Blue Grass Region. Then too it lay 
nearer the Ohio and was under the sway of the warring 
Shawnee Indians until after Wayne’s victory over the 
savages at Fallen Timbers, as narrated in the previous 
chapter. The all-conquering Anglo-Saxon people 
finally subdued the savage bands and entrenched them¬ 
selves in these mountain valleys which they continue 

to hold to this dav. 

«/ 

Anglo-Saxon Settlers.—Probably the purest Anglo- 
Saxon type found in America at the present time still 
lives in the mountain fastnesses of the eastern part of 
our State. The same mountains that have shut in this 
Anglo-American type of men have shut out, until 
recent years, many foreign races of a lower class. 
Many of the sayings, songs, manners and traditions of 
these early pioneers still remain. Shut in by the moun¬ 
tains, without connecting highways with other sec¬ 
tions of the State, these people have not moved for¬ 
ward with the current of modern progress, conse- 

155 


156 KENTUCKY 

quently have retained much of the civilization of a 
hundred years ago. 

Mounds and Salt Licks. —The Mound Builders have 

left in this region the remains of many monuments 
and other earthworks which they used for burying 
grounds, fortifications, and ceremonial purposes. The 
numerous salt licks and fine feeding ground made it 
a favorite haunt of wild animals, and these attracted 
thither many Indian hunting parties. 

First Explorers.— Probably the first white man to set 
foot in this region was Gabriel Arthur, who ac¬ 
companied a hunting party of Cherokee Indians 
thither in 1674. 1 Dr. Thomas Walker entered Ken¬ 
tucky through Cumberland Gap in 1750, and explored 
a part of the Big Sandy Valley. He gave the name 
Louisa, now called Levisa, to the west fork of the Big 
Sandy. 

George Washington the First Surveyor. —Recent re¬ 
searches of Dr. Jillson show that George Washington 
probably made the first land survey in this valley, 
which, perhaps, was also the first to be made in Ken¬ 
tucky. It is known that Washington was surveying 
land in this region between 1767-1770. A beginning 
corner stone, which marks one of these surveys, has 
the initials “G. W. ” marked on it. 

Other Explorers.— Daniel Boone and a companion, 
William Hill, were snow-bound while on a hunting 
and exploring expedition on the headwaters of the 
Big Sandy in 1767-8, and spent the winter there. For- 

1 Mention has been made in Chapter IV of the probable visit of 
Gabriel Arthur to Kentucky. See “Register, Kentucky Historical So¬ 
ciety,” Vol. 20, No. 60, p. 232. 


OTHER SETTLEMENTS 


157 


tunately they pitched their camp near a salt lick where 
animals came in abundance and were easily slain by 
the campers for food. Other hunting and exploring 
parties visited this region before the permanent 
settlement of Kentucky began. The red man used this 
valley as a war basis for attacking the outlying settle¬ 
ments of Virginia. Their depredations finally brought 
about Lord Dunmore’s War, and the battle of Point 
Pleasant. 

First Settlement. —In the fall and winter of 1787 and 
1788, Matthias Harmon and about twenty companions 
erected a log fort which became known as Harmon’s 
Station. This fort, which was the first English outpost 
in the Big Sandy Valley, wasMocated just below the 
mouth of Johns Creek. Numerous Indian attacks 
caused this station to be abandoned in 1789, after 
which it was burned to the ground by the red men. 
Both the Indian and white man coveted this valley be¬ 
cause of the abundance of game, and because it fur¬ 
nished a direct route to the Holston and Clinch River 
settlements in the southeast. Harmon’s Station was 
rebuilt in 1790 and was never again abandoned. 

Oldest Town. —John Spurlock built the first house, in 
1791, where Prestonsburg now stands, and thus 
founded the oldest town on the Big Sandy River. 1 
While the settlement of the Big Sandy Valley was de¬ 
layed, and its development has been slow, its pure 
mountain streams, fertile valleys, and rich mineral 
wealth will probably make it one of the most populous 
and wealthy parts of the State. 

1 Jillson, “Register, Kentucky Historical Society/’ Vol. 20, No. 60, 
p. 241. , 


158 


KENTUCKY 



The Circuit Rider 

The pioneer circuit rider was the 
religious herald of the West 


The Early Preacher.—Into this valley, as into other 
settled portions of the State, came the early Circuit 

Riders of many denomina¬ 
tions. Although rugged in 
manners and dress, the pio¬ 
neers were deeply religious. 
The preacher was poorly 
paid but he lived with the 
people and received a warm 
welcome in every home. At 
first there were no church 
houses but every home was 
open for prayer meeting 
and preaching services. In 
fair weather, meetings were 
held in pleasant, shady groves which ‘‘were God’s 
first temples.” The preacher’s outfit consisted of a 
good horse, saddle, bridle, and warm clothes. In his 
saddle-bags he usually carried a change of clothing, a 
small Bible and a hymn-book. He picked his way over* 
rugged trails from settlement to settlement and took 
refuge in any cabin home where night or storm hap¬ 
pened to overtake him. His plain, practical preaching 
was in keeping with the ideas of the pioneers, and did 
much to brighten and sweeten their harsh lives. 

Other Settlements.—By 1795, settlements were spring¬ 
ing up in every part of the State. Stations were built 
along the “Cumberland Trace,” which extended from 
Crab Orchard through southern Kentucky to Ten¬ 
nessee. (See map p. 60.) In 1780, Thomas Helm 
and others built three forts about one mile apart in 
Hardin County. The same year three stations were 



OTHER SETTLEMENTS 


159 


established in Logan County, one of them on the pres¬ 
ent site of Russellville. Glover’s Station, now Greens- 
burg, was founded in 1780, and McFadden’s Station, 
near Bowling Green, in Warren County, in 1785. A 
Blockhouse was built in Christian County in 1785, 
and the town of Hopkinsville was laid out in 1797. 
About the same year William Smithers, popularly 
called “Bill Smothers,” made a settlement on the 
present site of Owensboro. Smithers was born on the 
border of Virginia near the Holston River. His 
father was killed by Indians when “Bill” was only 
twelve years of age, and his mother died shortly after¬ 
wards. Before dawn on the day following his mother’s 
burial he went and stood by the graves of his parents 
and lifting his hand to heaven he made a vow to de¬ 
vote his life to the killing of Indians. He fulfilled his 
vow at every opportunity. He was with Isaac Shelby 
in the battle of King’s Mountain. Shortly afterwards 
t he married, and with his wife settled in Kentucky. 
About 1798 he built a cabin and hunter’s lodge on 
the present site of Owensboro. 

The eager pioneers pushed rapidly into the forests 
in search of favored places to build their houses. 
They sought fertile land and abundant game, and 
usually located their homes near good timber and pure 
springs. By 1790 log cabins of the bold settlers dotted 
the entire State. Notwithstanding the dangers from 
bands of prowling savages and the hardships of back- 
woods life, the conquest and settlement of Kentucky 
went rapidly on. Many miles of dark forests lay be¬ 
tween the scattered cabins, but each settler, by reason 


160 


KENTUCKY 


of his isolation, became the more heroic and se 



reliant. 1 

1 The following letter written about this time, on a scrap of paper 
apparently torn from the lining of a box or trunk, will give the reader 
a personal and close-up view of the perils and manner of living in these 
pioneer days. The writer of the letter, Mrs. Daphne Tiller, and her 
husband, floated down Cumberland River from near Cumberland Gap to 
the Fort at Nashville. From thence they walked up “The Cumberland 
Trace” until they reached Warren County, Kentucky, where they settled 
on Gasper River. 


Gasper River, March 2, 1794. 


< ( 


“Dear Mammy: 

King Fraser came to our cabin yesterday and staid all night with us. 
He brought us beet and onion seed and gave me a needle and some flax 
seed. We came here because Tolliver hired Sam to live on the Ball land 
and hold it. One of our horses died at Cumberland Gap, and Sam sold 
the other to a man for some ammunition and food, and we made a boat 
and came down the river to the Fort and then walked here and put up a 
log cabin. We rowed down the river in the night and laid by in the day, 
and we walked three or four nights pretty near all night. We hear 
Mr. Tolliver is going to send some people out here, and I wish that he 
would, as it is lonesome when Sam is gone. 

We have about two or three acres cleared and planted in corn and 
pumpkins and we have enough venizon dried to last for a year. My 
yellow linsey dress is nearly worn out, but the cottonade is not. Sam 
made me a buck-skin apron. 

There are folks about twelve miles from us on Big Barren River, and 
a Mr. McFadden who was hunting stray horses, stayed all night with us 
about a month ago. He begged us to come up where he lived and said it 
was not safe for us here. But we don’t feel afraid if it was not so 
lonesome. King said that he was going to meet some surveyors and hunt 
for some military land. 

Sometimes I cry about losing Bounce but Sam says that he knows 
that the Ingin that stuck a tomahawk into Bounce won’t ever kill an¬ 
other dog for he put a bullet into his hide. They were here about one 
whole day, whooping and hollering about, but they were great cow T ards. 

Sam says that if Tolliver will come out here next year we will go 
back on a visit. Tell everybody howdy and if you see any one coming 
here write to me and send me some things. I can get them at 
McFadden’s. 


Your affectionate daughter, 


Daphne’ ’ 


A POLITICAL CRISIS 


161 


Out of such fiery trials, so simply described in the 
letter quoted in the footnote, was born the sturdy 
race of Kentuckians of a later day. 


QUESTIONS AND SUGGESTIONS. 

Where is the Big Sandy Valley? Why was its settlement delayed? 
What class of people mostly settled it? Who were the first white men 
to visit it? Where was the first settlement made? Describe the life 
of the pioneer preacher. Tell about other settlements made in the 
State. Read the letter in the footnote. It gives a good view of 
pioneer life. 


CHAPTER XXVI 

A POLITICAL CRISIS 

THE FRENCH INTRIGUE AND GENET ENTERPRISE 

There are critical periods in the life of every na¬ 
tion when an ill-advised act may change its destiny. 
The trying days of the Revolution had passed, a loose 
confederation of states had given place to a strong 
central government, and our infant Republic gave 
promise of future greatness. But it was yet young 
and untried and had not won the confidence of its own 
people and that of other nations that it now has. Each 
of the states that were then under our national ban¬ 
ner had been but recently an independent colony and 
had reluctantly consented to unite under a stronger 
central government. The spirit of individual inde¬ 
pendence and state sovereignty was dear to the hearts 
of all Americans, especially to the western people. 


162 


KENTUCKY 


There had not yet been sufficient time to bring them 
all together in a bond of national unity and sympathy. 
If the student will keep in mind these facts they will 
help him to understand the seeming disloyalty of the 
Kentuckians to the United States in the French in¬ 
trigue. 

Sympathy of the Americans for France.— The success 
of the American Revolution had fired the oppressed 
people of France with a desire for freedom. The 
French soldiers who had fought side by side with the 
Americans for their independence had scarcely re¬ 
turned to their native shores when the storm of the 
French Revolution broke. It was but natural that 
the Americans should desire to aid the French in their 
struggle for independence. The French people at first 
succeeded in limiting the power of their king and 
establishing a more liberal government without blood¬ 
shed, but the monarclis of Europe became alarmed at 
the growth of free governments and banded together 
to restore the King of France to absolute power. This 
brought on a bloody war. France at once turned to 
America for aid and sympathy and reminded us that, 
according to the recent treaty with her, we should be¬ 
come her ally. In the bloody conflict that followed 
the King of France was overthrown and beheaded and 
a republic was proclaimed. 

Citizen Genet.— In 1793, the new French Republic 
sent its first minister, Edmund Charles Genet, to this 
country. He landed at Charleston and proceeded 
overland to Philadelphia amid a clamorous welcome 
of the people. He bore the title of “Citizen,” for the 
French had abolished all titles of royalty, and all 


A POLITICAL CRISIS 


163 


persons were now known as ‘ ‘ citizens.’ ’ Genet had 
begun fitting out privateers and organizing “ Demo¬ 
cratic Clubs’’ in the interest of his country even before 
he called on President Washington at the Capitol. 
But the enthusiasm with which he was received by the 
people was chilled by the attitude of Washington, who 
assured him of the friendly feeling of the Americans, 
but informed him that the United States would not 
make an unprovoked war against a friendly nation. 
However, emboldened by the enthusiastic support of 
the people, Genet proceeded, in the face of the warn¬ 
ings of Washington, to appoint agents to organize ex¬ 
peditions against the enemies of France. Many of 
these agents were actively engaged in stirring up the 
people of Kentucky against Spain, which was now 
in alliance with England against France. 

Attitude of the Kentuckians.—The West was ripe for 
Genet’s intrigues, a fact well known to the “Citizen” 
Minister. England and Spain were both hated by 
the western people; the former, because of her tyran¬ 
nical course toward the colonies, and the latter because 
she stood in the way of free navigation of the Missis¬ 
sippi, and the settlement of the Louisiana Territory. 
On the other hand, the French people were loved 
and admired because they had aided the Americans 
in the War of Independence and were now engaged 
in a similar struggle to throw off the yoke of a tyran¬ 
nical monarch. While Kentucky had become a mem¬ 
ber of the Union, her people fretted under the seem¬ 
ing neglect of the Federal Government which they had 
not yet learned, to respect or fear. They had been 
schooled in the freedom of border life and chafed 



164 


KENTUCKY 


under any laws that limited their personal liberty, 
and, therefore, were slow to submit to the wishes of 
the Federal Government. 

Genet’s Backers Plan an Expedition. —Encouraged by 
these circumstances, Genet set on foot an expedition 
against Louisiana. It was to be composed of the 
frontiersmen, and to be led by George Rogers Clark. 
Neither Virginia nor the Federal Government had 
given proper recognition to the great work done by 
Clark in conquering the Northwest Territory, and this 
neglect had embittered him. With this strain upon 
his loyalty, and weakened by intemperate habits, he 
became an easy mark for the intriguing Genet, and 
declared that he desired to become, not only a soldier, 
but a citizen of France. “Genet’s agents and Clark 
in Kentucky actively undertook the procuring of sup¬ 
plies and boats, and attempted to interest the discon¬ 
tented Kentuckians in the scheme for securing the 
freedom of navigation of the Mississippi, by replac¬ 
ing Spain at the mouth of the river by the French 
Republic.” 1 Benjamin Logan, and many other Ken¬ 
tuckians who, Clark said, only waited for a proper 
time to openly declare themselves, were drawn into 
Genet’s enterprise. The agents of Clark and Genet 
gathered flatboats on the Ohio, and laid in stores of 
ammunition and provisions for the expedition. The 
preparations were made openly, and speedily at¬ 
tracted the attention of the Spanish agents, and 
alarmed the Government at Washington. 

The Filibusters Are Warned.— 4 ‘ St. Clair, the Governor 

xti Report of American Historical Society/’ 1896, p. 932. 


A POLITICAL CRISIS 


165 


of the Northwestern Territory, wrote to Shelby to 
warn him of what was being done, and Wayne, who 
was a much more formidable person than Shelby or 
Clark or any of their backers, took prompt steps to 
prevent the expedition from starting, by building a 
fort near the mouth of the Ohio, and ordering his 
lieutenants to hold themselves in readiness for any 
action he might direct.’’ 1 Governor Shelby was like¬ 
wise informed by Washington of the plans of the fili¬ 
busters but he took no action, claiming he did not have 
a legal right to prevent the expedition. 2 

Failure of the Intrigue. —In the meantime, Washing¬ 
ton had issued a proclamation of neutrality, and be¬ 
cause of the ill-mannered and unlawful conduct of 
Genet, had requested the French Government to recall 
him. Even those who had supported Genet’s plans 
were offended by the ill-advised actions of “such a 
feather-headed mischief maker,” and had grown luke¬ 
warm toward his cause. Thus failed a project that in¬ 
volved great issues. A bloody war was averted at a 
critical time in our history, and the vast Mississippi 
Basin was left open to final and peaceable occupation 
by the United States. The people of Kentucky did not 
yet understand the strength and meaning of their 
union with the Eastern States, and the importance of 
the West in the future development of the Nation. 

1 Roosevelt, “The Winning of the West,” Vol. VI, p. 97. 

2 In a letter to the Secretary of State, Shelby argued that he knew of 
no law to prevent the proposed expedition, or to inflict punishment on 
persons engaged in it. He declined to stretch his power to oppose the 
plans, for he believed the Government should act against Spain and 
protect the interests of the Kentuckians by securing the free navigation 
of the Mississippi. 


166 


KENTUCKY 


While they were sincere and patriotic, they did not, as 
yet, have a true vision of their own good, and the 
future greatness of their country. 

Washington and the West.— “Washington also saw, 
as we can see now very plainly, that, wrong and un¬ 
patriotic as the Kentucky attitude was, there was still 
an excuse for it. Those bold pioneers, to whom the 
country owes so much, had very substantial griev¬ 
ances. They knew nothing of the laws of nations, 
and did not yet realize that they had a country and 
a nationality; but they had the instincts of all great 
conquering races. They looked upon the Mississippi 
and felt that it was of right theirs, and that it must 
belong to the vast empire which they were winning 
from the wilderness.” 1 Washington seems to have 
understood the Kentucky people, and the need for 
the Mississippi and the territory of the great West, 
better than any statesman of his day. “The true and 
first mission of the American people was, in Wash¬ 
ington’s theory, the conquest of the continent which 
stretched away wild and silent behind them, for in 
that direction lay the sure road to national greatness. 
The first step was to bind by interest, trade, and habit 
of communication the Atlantic States with the settle¬ 
ments beyond the mountains, and for this he had 
planned canals and highways in the days of the 
Confederation. ’ ’ 2 

Washington’s Policy. —Washington wanted time— 
time gained by peace—to bring together the people 
of the United States under a strong Central govern- 

1 Lodge, ‘‘George Washington,” Vol. II, p. 160. 

2 Ibid., p. 214. 



A POLITICAL CRISIS 


167 


ment. He opposed Genet’s enterprise in tlie face of 
unjust criticisms and slander, and even threats of 
violence. He was charged with sympathizing with 
England and supporting royalty against the rights of 
the people. The wisdom of Washington and a few 
other far-seeing statesmen prevailed, while Clark and 
other leaders in the ill-starred enterprise doubtless 
repented their hasty and ill-advised action. Thus 
failed the designs of France to regain her foothold in 
America and to limit the westward march of the 
United States; thus time was gained to bring 
peaceably into the Union all the great West to the sea. 


QUESTIONS AND SUGGESTIONS. 

Why did the State hesitate to become a part of the Federal Govern¬ 
ment? What effect did the success of the American Revolution have 
upon the French people? What was the attitude of the American 
people toward the French in their struggle for independence? Give 
an account of Citizen Genet. What was the attitude of the Ken¬ 
tuckians to Genet’s enterprise? Who were the filibusters and what 
did they propose to do? What action did President Washington take? 
Subject for class debate: Resolved that the Americans should have 
aided the French in their struggle for independence. 




CHAPTER XXVII 


CHARACTER, MANNERS AND CUSTOMS OP 
EARLY KENTUCKIANS 

The achievement of our national independence gave 
self-confidence and personal pride to every true 
American. The close of the Revolution was the signal 
to a waiting host to move forward. The vastness of 
the West and the lure of the wilderness appealed to 
the free man. Here, notwithstanding the widely differ¬ 
ent classes that now made up the settlers, there were 
no castes, hut an equal opportunity was offered every¬ 
one. “Without social classes and wealth, democracy 
reigned supreme. The daily struggle for existence 
amid the dangers of the wilderness produced a race 
of men, sturdy in their self-reliance, self-respecting in 
their independence, quick to think, strong to act, and 
above all filled with the spirit of enterprise. Their 
remoteness from the aim of the law led them to frame 
laws for themselves, or to take the law into their 
own hands.” 1 The hazards and hardships of pioneer 
life established a bond of union and mutual depend¬ 
ence too close for social distinctions. Many thousands 
of Revolutionary soldiers, and others who had lost 
their fortunes in the war, streamed through Cumber¬ 
land Gap, or floated down the Ohio to found homes 

'Semple, “American History and Its Geographic Conditions, 97 p. 62. 

168 


EARLY CUSTOMS 


169 


in the new country. Among these were many skilled 
workmen and able professional men and statesmen, 
from the best families of the East, who became leaders 
in the development of the State. 

Making Progress.— Numerous roads that made travel 
easier and safer and aided in the defense against the 
savages had been opened. They were rough, and led 
across unbridged streams at fords or ferries. There 
were no post offices, post roads or mail carriers, but 
every person coming to the State or going from it, 
and every traveler was a willing bearer of messages 
and letters for friends, or strangers. The many 
navigable streams formed a network of natural high¬ 
ways for all manner of crude craft, used in traffic and 
travel. “Flatboats” conveyed the products of the 
farm and home to the Spanish markets at Natchez, 
New Orleans and other points on the Mississippi 
River. The wilderness was rapidly disappearing. 
Buffalo, elk, deer and other large game had become 
scarce, and domestic animals were being raised to 
supply the food and clothing. Wild pastures and 
canebrakes gave place to cultivated fields and 
meadows. Some orchards, planted by the first settlers, 
were now bearing abundant fruit, and wild grapes, 
wild strawberries, blackberries, persimmons, haws 
and papaws were plentiful. The forests yielded a 
bountiful supply of delicious nuts of many varieties 
that furnished food for man and beast. 

Rough log huts with dirt floors were giving place to 
better and more comfortable houses. The furniture 
of the cabins was simple, crude and “home-made,” 
and very limited in quantity. The tables consisted of 



170 


KENTUCKY 


split logs hewn smooth on one side, with holes bored 
for legs, and stools of similar make were used for 
chairs. Beds were framed in the corners out of poles 
fitted into holes in the walls and resting on a corner 
support, consisting of a fork planted in the ground 
or set into a puncheon floor. The bedding consisted 
chiefly of buffalo, bear and deer skins and coarsely 
woven cloth. 

Food.— A large open fireplace gave warmth and 
cheer, and upon the hearth about the fire, and in pots 
suspended from a rack in the chimney, the cooking 
was done. The food consisted of the meat of wild 
animals and fowls that were found in great abun¬ 
dance. Numerous creeks and rivers furnished a boun¬ 
tiful supply of savory fish that were easily caught. 
Corn furnished fodder for the animals, and roast- 
ing-ears, corn-pone and hominy for the family. Beans, 
potatoes, pumpkins, turnips and other vegetables 
produced well. Salt was scarce and the sweets con¬ 
sisted of sugar made from the sugar maple. ‘ 4 Hog 
and hominy,” “Jowl and turnip greens” became 
popular articles of food during these early years. 

Fortress and Factory.— Over the door or fireplace, in a 
rack made of deer horns, lay the deadly rifle, and from 
the antlers the powder horn and shot pouch were sus¬ 
pended. Every home was a fortress and a factory 
and every man his own knight, carpenter and builder. 
As time went on, a division of labor came about and 
each settlement had its blacksmith, wheelwright and 
carpenter. The principal tools were the ax, saw, 
auger, adz, drawknife and hammer. The loom, spin¬ 
ning wheel, and other simple implements of domestic 



EARLY CUSTOMS 


171 


arts, by which the shaggy hair of the buffalo and the 
fiber of the wild nettle were made into coarse cloth, 
were part of the household equipment. The clothing 
was made from dressed deer skins, coarse cotton 
goods, and linsey-woolsey, which was a coarse cloth 
made from flax and wool. “ Every family was under 
the necessity of doing everything for themselves as 
well as they could.” But this very necessity devel¬ 
oped a strong and self-reliant people. 

The Kentuckian was a freeman by birth and train¬ 
ing, and rebelled against any abridgment of his per¬ 
sonal liberties, but he was ardent in his support of 
the general good of his state. The price he paid in 
blood and suffering to found his home in the wilder¬ 
ness developed a fondness for his fireside and coun¬ 
try, and made him a loyal and heroic defender of his 
government and its free institutions. The spirit of 
the “Old Kentucky Home,” a song that has been sung 
around the world and translated into every civilized 
tongue, was developed in the Kentucky pioneers ’ 
cabins long before it was set to music. The hero of 
the wilderness defended his humble home with a cour¬ 
age and gallantry not surpassed by Sir Knight of 
feudal days in the defense of his castle—“My home,” 
said he, “is my castle.” Still, “The sun shines bright 
in the old Kentucky home” though so changed today 
from that of our forefathers. So long as the home 
and its virtues remain an abiding influence in our 
great Country, it will continue a tower of strength,- and 
a beacon light to other nations. The hospitality of 
the homes of pioneer days has never been equalled in 
any other age or country. No man, even though a 



172 


Federal Hill, Bardstowm, 

Where Stephen Collins Foster wrote “Old Kentucky Home 











EARLY CUSTOMS 173 


stranger, was turned from the door without a kind 
word or warm welcome. A rugged sense of law and 
order prevailed, and outlaw refugees from other 
states, horse thieves and robbers, the lawless of every 
kind, were treated with swift and certain punishment. 

Pioneer Women.— Side by side with the brave men 
stood the pioneer mothers, wives, and daughters 



An Improved Pioneer Kitchen 


who were equal sufferers and equally heroic in the 
face of dangers. They spun and wove, knitted and 
sewed, cooked, and worked the gardens to provide the 
household with food and clothing. Sometimes when 
left alone with the children in their cabins they were 
attacked by Indians whom they fought with courage 
and often succeeded in driving them off. 1 On occa- 

1 Shortly after the attack on Bryan’s Station, Hosea and Jessie Cook, 
and Martin, a brother-in-law, settled on the Elk Horn near Frankfort. 
One day while two of the men were shearing sheep they were tired upon 
by the Indians. Both were killed but one got to the cabin door and was 
































174 


KENTUCKY 


sions when the forts were attacked, they aided the 
riflemen by molding bullets, loading the guns and 
putting out the fires which were sometimes started by 
flaming arrows shot by the enemy. They were the 
nurses and doctors, and with their simple remedies of 
herbs, teas and poultices, and the balm of their sym¬ 
pathetic tears, they relieved pain and saved lives. 

Religion. —The pioneer minister who could fight as 
.well as pray was popular with the early colonists. He 
preached a strong and fiery gospel concerning the 
wages of sin and the torments of the sinner, and per¬ 
formed an important part in suppressing wickedness 
and cheering the discouraged settlers. Baptists, 
Presbyterians, Methodists, Catholics and other de¬ 
nominations settled in Kentucky and with them came 
their ministers. There was at least one instance of 
a whole Baptist congregation that came from Vir¬ 
ginia, preaching and praying on the way, finally 
settling and establishing a church in the State. Early 
Kentucky laws guaranteed religious freedom and, for 
the most part, the people were tolerant in their re¬ 
ligious beliefs and practices. Many Scotch-Irish 
Presbyterians, who had strict notions concerning the 
observance of religious doctrines and the keeping of 
the commandments, were among the early Kentucky 
people. They favored schools and furnished many 
of the best pioneer teachers. With the pioneer 

dragged inside by the women before he died. Unknown to the rest of 
the family, Jessie Cook had already been killed while out hunting. The 
Indians set fire to the building several times but the women put it out 
with water, and when this gave out they used the bloody shirt of the 
slain man, and broken eggs. They finally found bullets, loaded a rifle 
and fired on the Indians, killing the leader, when the rest fled. 


EARLY CUSTOMS 


175 


preacher came the doctor and lawyer. The doctors 
carried their limited stock of medicines in saddlebags 
wherever they went, and when necessary, would ride 
night and day to relieve the sick. The lawyer found 
profitable practice in the courts in the settlements of 
much confusion concerning land claims. 

Pioneers at Play.— In spite of the perils and hardships 
of these early years, the spirit of these dauntless 
heroes often broke forth in frolic and fun. To the music 
of the old-time fiddle, young and old alike joined in the 
popular jigs or the Virginia Reel, to while away many 
pleasant hours. The hardier sports of jumping and 
racing, boxing and wrestling, shooting matches, throw¬ 
ing the tomahawk, and even fighting were favorite 
pastimes of the men. The early Kentuckians showed 
their fondness for fine horses, and horse racing be¬ 
came popular at this time. They sometimes combined 
work and play. On the occasion of log-rollings, house- 
raisings, house-warmings, corn-shuckings, and quilt¬ 
ings they met to do what the family alone could not 
accomplish. “ Every such meeting was the occasion of 
a frolic and dance for the young people, whiskey and 
rum being plentiful, and the host exerting his utmost 
power to spread the table with backwoods delicacies— 
bear meat and venison, vegetables from the ‘ truck 
patch’ . . . wild fruits, bowls of milk and apple 
pies’’ 1 —feasting and fun ruled the occasion. 

Books.— There were but few books, but these were 
mostly of a moral and religious type, such as the 
Bible, Pilgrim’s Progress, Saint’s Rest, Paradise Lost, 
Plutarch’s Lives, Homer’s Iliad, and Shakespeare’s 

1 Eoosevelt, “The Winning of the West .” 



176 


KENTUCKY 


Plays. It must be remembered that many of the 
pioneers were well educated people and it was not 
uncommon to find many of the best books of the day 
in some of these cabin homes. 

Word Picture of Pioneer Home.— Alexis De Tocque- 
ville, a French writer who traveled on the pioneer 
border of the United States in 1830, has drawn for us 
a true and thoughtful picture. He says, “As soon as 
the pioneer arrives on the spot which is to serve him 
for a retreat, he fells a few trees and builds a log house. 
Nothing can offer a more miserable aspect than these 
isolated dwellings. The traveler who approaches one 
of them toward nightfall, sees the flicker of the hearth- 
flame through the chinks in the walls; and at night, 
if the wind rises, he hears the roof of the boughs shake 
to and fro in the midst of the great forest trees. Who 
would not suppose that this poor hut is the asylum 
of rudeness and ignorance? Yet no sort of compari¬ 
son can be drawn between the pioneer and the dwell¬ 
ing which shelters him. Everything about him is 
primitive and unformed, but he is himself the result 
of the labor and experience of eighteen centuries. He 
wears the dress and speaks the language of cities; he 
is acquainted with the past, curious of the future, and 
ready for argument upon the present; he is, in short, 
a highly civilized being, who consents, for a time, to 
inhabit the backwoods, and who penetrates into the 
wilds of a new world with the Bible, an ax and a file 
of newspapers.” 


POLITICAL BEGINNINGS 


177 


QUESTIONS AND SUGGESTIONS. 

What strengthened the bond of union and prevented castes among 
the settlers of the West? Tell about the roads, mail service, travel 
and traffic at this time. Describe the home and home life of the 
pioneer. Why was every home necessarily a fortress and a factory? 
What can you say concerning the spirit of the Old Kentucky Home? 
What did the pioneer women do? What can you say concerning the 
religious movement of this time? Tell about the pioneers at work 
and play. What does De Tocqueville say of the pioneer home? 


CHAPTER XXVlII 

POLITICAL BEGINNINGS 

Political confusion followed the bloody days of the 
Revolution. Up to this time no strong state or na¬ 
tional governments had been established. Following 
the conflicts of battle, came a conflict of principles in 
the setting up of a free government, different from 
any that existed at that time. Out of the theories 
and experiments of this time, and previous years of 
colonial experience, have come our present forms of 
state and national governments. The future welfare 
of our country depended upon the political movements 
of this time. Politics, which is the science and art 
of government, rightly demanded the attention of the 
people. Since Kentucky had become a member of the 
Union, she was concerned not only in the setting up 
of a good state government, but in all national ques¬ 
tions that had to do with her rights as a State. Differ¬ 
ent political ideals gave rise to different political 
parties. 


178 


KENTUCKY 


Rise of Political Parties.— How to build a strong cen¬ 
tral government out of many independent state gov¬ 
ernments, without interfering with the rights of either, 
was a difficult problem that took many years to solve. 
Out of the ideals of this time two political parties 
sprang. These were the Federalist, now called the Re¬ 
publican party, and the Republicans, now called the 
Democratic party. Each desired good government, 
but the Federalists thought there should be a strong 
National Government and less state rights; the Repub¬ 
licans wished to give the states more power and the 
Federal Government as little power as possible. In 
short, the Federalists believed in a strong centra] 
government while the Republicans believed in a strong 
state government. These different ideas of govern¬ 
ment became the source of much bitter controversy 
and was one of the causes that finally led to the Civil 
War. 1 

Jay’s Treaty. —To rightly understand the history of 
our State it will be necessary, henceforward, for us to 
study many national questions. Washington, who was 
a Federalist, was unanimously re-elected President 
in 1793. In 1794, he appointed John Jay, envoy to 
England, to make a treaty concerning the posts still 


From 1826 to 1856 the Federalists were called the National Republi¬ 
cans, or, sometimes, Whigs. About 1856 the name was changed to Re¬ 
publicans, which title has been kept till now. In 1828 the Republicans, 
or Anti-Federalists, were called Democratic Republicans, but since 1830 
they have gone by the name of Democrats. Whigs, as opposed to 
Tories, were supporters of the Revolution, and afterwards supporters of 
the National Government. This party was formed in 1834 by a fusion 
of the National Republicans and other elements opposed to the Demo¬ 
crats. The Whigs elected Harrison in 1840, Taylor in 1848, and disap¬ 
peared as a party by 1856. 


POLITICAL BEGINNINGS 


179 


held by the British in the Northwest, and to establish 
more just and honorable commercial relations. It 
wall be recalled that in 1785, Jay had offered to give 
to Spain control over the navigation of the Mississippi 
River for twenty-five years. Remembering this, the 
Kentuckians were greatly angered by Jay’s appoint¬ 
ment, for they believed that if he would barter away 
their “natural” rights “to the free and undisturbed 
navigation of the Mississippi River” to Spain, that 
he would not protect their interests in a treaty with 
England. At a public meeting held in Lexington, reso¬ 
lutions were drawn up strongly condemning Jay and 
the policy of the Federal Government. Jay was 
guillotined and burned in effigy. These insults were 
heaped upon the able envoy before he had been given 
time to reach England. These acts were unworthy of 
the Kentuckians and can be understood only by re¬ 
membering their hatred for England and Spain, both 
of which had stood in the way of their liberty and 
progress. The Kentuckians called loudly for a re¬ 
dress of “injuries and insults done and offered by 
Great Britain to America,” and promised their sup¬ 
port to the utmost of their ability. Fortunately a 
wiser course was pursued by the Federal Government. 
A treaty was made by Jay in 1795, and ratified by the 
United States. It was not what the people desired, 
and when published, it provoked much angry criti¬ 
cism, but it was better than war. It provided for the 
surrender of the Northwest posts by 1796, and allowed 
more freedom of trade with England, but said nothing 
about the payment for ships that had been unlawfully 
seized by the British. “The indignation of the Ken- 


180 


KENTUCKY 


tuckians almost amounted to mania. They denounced 
the treaty with frantic intemperance, and even threat¬ 
ened violence to those of their own number, headed 
by Humphrey Marshall, who supported it; yet they 
benefited much by it, for it got them what they would 
have been absolutely powerless to obtain for them¬ 
selves, that is, the possession of the British posts on 
the Lakes.” 1 In May, 1796, these posts were evacu¬ 
ated, and thus the Kentucky people were relieved from 
the presence of a hated enemy. 

Separatists’ Movement.— Spain secretly desired the 
separation of Kentucky from the Union. Knowing 
the dissatisfaction of the Kentuckians with the policy 
of the Federal Government, the Spanish Governor of 
New Orleans sent Thomas Power to parley with the 
leaders who favored separation. Power promised 
them armed aid if they would revolt, also that Spain 
would become an ally of the State when her independ¬ 
ence had been secured. The Spanish Government was 
a weak and treacherous power and attempted to do 
by treachery and intrigue what it feared to attempt 
openly. Notwithstanding rich bribes that were 
offered to the leaders of the separatists, these men re¬ 
fused the offer and kept the knowledge of it from the 
people. The leaders of the separatists never actually 
carried the Kentuckians with them; for, whenever an 
issue was sprung, the people proved loyal to the Union. 
Happily, in 1795, Thomas Pinckney wrung from Spain 
a treaty that fixed the boundary line between the 
United States and Spain, as claimed by the United 


1 Roosevelt, ‘‘The Winning of the West,” Vol. VI, p. 115. 


POLITICAL BEGINNINGS 181 

States, and opened the Mississippi to free navigation. 1 
The combined effect of Jay’s and Pinckney’s treaties 
gave much satisfaction to the West and resulted in 
its greater loyalty to the Federal Government. 

Governor Garrard’s Administration.—In 1796, James 
Garrard, a Revolutionary officer who had also served 
in the Virginia and Kentucky legislatures, was chosen 
second Governor of Kentucky and was re-elected in 
1800. At this time money was scarce, and most of the 
trading was by barter. Butter was eight cents a 
pound, beef two cents, buffalo meat one and one-half 
cents, and fat turkeys only twenty cents apiece. 
Manufactured articles were scarce, and luxuries 
could be had only by the well-to-do. The salaries of 
officers were low. The Governor received one thou¬ 
sand dollars, while the Judges of the Court of Ap¬ 
peals received two-thirds, and the Auditor and At¬ 
torney General one-third of that amount. Salaries of 
other officials were correspondingly low. 

Agitation of the Slave Question.—The slave question 
was now attracting the attention of our state and 
national governments. There was much opposition to 
slavery in Kentucky. A provision of the State Con¬ 
stitution prohibited the bringing of slaves into the 
State as merchandise. As early as 1798, Henry Clay, 
a young Virginian, who had recently come to Ken¬ 
tucky, spoke eloquently against slavery, and favored 
a plan by which all slaves would be gradually freed. 

1 The southern boundary, as agreed upon, ran with the thirty-first 
parallel of latitude from the Mississippi to the Chattahoochee, down it 
to the Flint, thence to the head of St. Mary’s, and down it to the sea. 
(Trace on a map.) The mid-channel of the Mississippi had been de¬ 
clared the western boundary. 


182 


KENTUCKY 


As time went on the slave question became the source 
of much bitter controversy, and finally led to our great 
Civil War. 

Spanish Intrigue.—The interval of peace which had 
reigned since the Jay Treaty was now rudely broken. 
Spain, acting in her usual bad faith, refused to 
carry out the treaty she had ratified in 1796. Again 
she sent Thomas Power to confer with Wilkinson, 
Sebastian, Innes, and others in another effort to bring 
about a separation of the West from the States of the 
East. Spain continued her schemes and delays, but 
the western people could not be restrained much 
longer. The settlers around Natchez and other places, 
still held by the Spanish in violation of the treaty, 
arose in revolt. Finally, Captain Isaac Guyon, with a 
troop of United States soldiers, took possession of 
Chickasaw Bluffs and Natchez, and the Spanish soon 
evacuated the country. Spain ultimately yielded be¬ 
cause she feared to hazard a conflict with the Ameri¬ 
cans that would probably involve the entire loss of 
Louisiana. 

The Alien and Sedition Laws.—In 1798, party lines 
were sharply drawn. The Federalists, led by Alex¬ 
ander Hamilton, stood for a strong centralized gov¬ 
ernment; the Republicans, led by Thomas Jefferson, 
advocated State’s Rights and local self-government. 
Hamilton did not believe the people capable of self- 
government; Jefferson trusted the people, and be¬ 
lieved they would rule wisely and well. We should 
bear in mind the difference in these political doctrines 
in the issue that arose at this time. John Adams, a 
Federalist, was now President of the United States. 


POLITICAL BEGINNINGS 183 

There were a number of enemies to our Government, 
many of them foreigners, who viciously attacked our 
institutions. The insolent conduct of Citizen Genet 
was also recalled and it added to the resentment 
against foreigners. In the excitement, Congress, 
which was controlled by the Federalists, passed the 
‘‘Alien and Sedition Laws.” The Sedition Law made 
it a crime for anyone to speak ill of the President or 
of Congress in a way to arouse the hatred of the 
people against them. Those who opposed these laws 
said they were an attack on the freedom of speech 
and the liberty of the press. They kindled a flame of 
indignation in the hearts of the western people, and 
popular clamor arose against the Federalist Party, 
which had passed them. The Kentuckians, as well 
as the people of other states of the Union, had fought 
for liberty, for freedom of speech, and for self-gov¬ 
ernment, and refused now to obey any law that took 
these rights from them. At a meeting held in Lexing¬ 
ton young Henry Clay poured forth such a torrent of 
eloquent denunciation of the laws that “indignation 
came like a dark shadow upon every countenance” 
present. 

The Kentucky Resolutions.—Soon after this the Ken¬ 
tucky legislature passed Resolutions severely con¬ 
demning the Alien and Sedition Laws, declaring they 
violated the Federal Constitution; and were, there¬ 
fore, ‘ ‘ altogether void and of no effect. * ’ 1 Thomas 
Jefferson had written the Resolutions, but some 
changes were made in them by John Breckenridge be- 

1 For a full and interesting account, see MeElroy, “Kentucky In 
the Nation’s History,” Chapter VIII. 


184 


KENTUCKY 


fore he introduced them, and secured their adoption. 
A few weeks later, Virginia adopted similar resolu¬ 
tions, and other states were called upon to express 
themselves upon the question. A few did, but took 
an opposite view from Kentucky and Virginia. Thus 
a grave question was opened that became the source 
of strife for many years, and was also one of the 
causes of the Civil War. The Alien Law was never 
enforced. The first victim of the Sedition Law was 
Matthew Lyon, a member of the House of Representa¬ 
tives from Vermont. 1 The Kentucky Resolutions at¬ 
tracted wide attention and became famous in Ameri¬ 
can history. The passage of the unpopular Alien 
and Sedition Laws by the Federalist President and 


1 Matthew Lyon was born in Ireland in 1746. At nineteen years of 
age he fled to America to escape the cruelty of a step-father. He bound 
himself to a ship captain to work twelve months for his passage. Upon 
reaching America, the captain hired him to a Connecticut farmer for 
two bulls. He served the farmer faithfully for one year and became a 
free man. From this circumstance he adopted for his favorite byword, 
11 by the bulls that bought me. ’ ’ Lyon became a Colonel of militia in 
the Eevolutionary army. He was a restless, daring, and impetuous spirit, 
ultra-democratic. In 1797 he was sent to Congress from the State of 
his adoption. While in Congress he had a personal encounter with Mr. 
Griswold, a Federalist, who hated him. For a violation of the Sedition 
Law he was fined and thrown into prison for language used against 
President Adams and the Federalists, that w r ould be considered mild in 
the heat of modern political campaigns. While serving his sentence in 
prison he was re-elected to Congress. In 1801 he cast the deciding vote 
in the election contest that made Thomas Jefferson instead of Aaron 
Burr President of the United States. In the spring of the same year he 
moved to Kentucky with his family and some friends and founded 
Eddyville. From Kentucky he was sent to Congress for eight years. 
Lyon County was named for his distinguished son, Colonel Chittenden 
Lyon. Be it said to the honor of our great country that a later Con¬ 
gress returned the amount of the fines, with interest, to the descendants 
of Matthew Lyon. (See sketch, Collins’ “History of Kentucky, Vol. II, 
p. 491.) 


POLITICAL MOVEMENTS 185 

Congress proved the undoing of the Federalist Party, 
and brought about the election of Thomas Jefferson 
in 1800. 


QUESTIONS AND SUGGESTIONS. 

Why was there confusion in the setting up of a new form of govern¬ 
ment in America? Give an account of the rise of political parties. 
Why did the Kentuckians resent the appointment of John Jay as envoy 
to England? How did they show this resentment? How did Jay’s 
treaty benefit Kentucky? Describe the Spanish intrigue and the 
separatists ’ movement. Tell about the price of foodstuffs at this 
time. What was the result of the second Spanish intrigue? What 
were the Alien and Sedition laws? How were they regarded in Ken¬ 
tucky? What were the Kentucky Resolutions? 


CHAPTER XXIX 

POLITICAL MOVEMENTS AND WESTWARD 

EXPANSION 

Second Constitutional Convention.—Tc understand 
many of the public acts of the Kentuckians, the reader 
must always keep in mind their love of personal in¬ 
dependence. They rebelled against any authority that 
threatened their individual and political liberty. The 
passage of the Alien and Sedition Laws turned their 
attention to their own Constitution and caused them 
to demand a revision of it. Accordingly, a second con¬ 
stitutional convention met in Frankfort July 22, 1799. 
Alexander Scott Bullitt was chosen president, and 
Thomas Todd, clerk. The revisions that were made 
required the Governor to be elected by the people in- 


186 


KENTUCKY 


stead of by a college of electors. It limited his 
authority, and provided that his veto power might be 
overruled by a majority of the legislature. It fur¬ 
ther provided for a Lieutenant Governor, also to be 
elected by the people, and that he should be speaker 
of the Senate. The Senators were to be chosen by 
popular vote, and much of the business of the Supreme 
Court was delegated to lower courts that were more ac- 



An Ohio River Flatboat 


cessible to the people. These and other acts show that 
the people were jealously guarding their right to self- 
government. 

Trade Development.—Following the treaty with Spain 
in 1795, which provided for the free navigation of the 
Mississippi, and the right to deposit goods at New Or¬ 
leans for reshipment to foreign markets, trade be¬ 
tween Kentucky and the southern ports grew rapidly. 
On account of a scarcity of money, Governor Garrard 
encouraged the Kentucky merchants to make “an ex¬ 
change of commodities” when trading in southern 
markets. The Ohio and Mississippi and many of their 



















































POLITICAL MOVEMENTS 187 

tributaries were now dotted with flatboats, keel-boats 
and all manner of crude craft on their way to southern 
markets. Farming became more profitable and land 
rose in value. The people were becoming more con¬ 
tented and prosperous. But their joy was of short 
duration, for other foreign troubles arose that inter¬ 
fered with their commerce. 

Enemies to Our Trade.— France became bitterly angry 
at the Jay Treaty made with her enemy, England. She 
charged the LTnited States with bad faith, and insult¬ 
ingly refused to receive Pinckney, our minister, who 
was sent to Paris. She sent Pinckney home and be¬ 
gan to prey upon our commerce. This was a great 
blow to the Kentuckians, for their products went from 
New Orleans to the world markets by sea. In 1800, 
Spain ceded Louisiana to France, and at the same 
time the Spanish Intendant at New Orleans notified 
the Americans, in violation of our treaty with Spain, 
that they should no longer use New Orleans as a port 
of deposit from which to reship their merchandise. 
This meant the destruction of the commerce of the 
Kentuckians, and threatened the establishment of a 
powerful enemy-empire on our border. Napoleon, the 
First Consul of France, sent a large army to take 
possession of New Orleans. Fortunately for America, 
neither this army, nor the second that was sent, ever 
arrived. 1 Governor Garrard laid these matters be¬ 
fore the Kentucky legislature, which immediately ad- 


1 These armies were ordered to stop at Santo Domingo and subdue the 
negro leader, Toussaint Louverture, and his followers who had overthrown 
French rule. Between the losses in battle and the breaking out of yellow 
fever both these armies were almost destroyed. 


188 


KENTUCKY 


dressed a message to the President declaring the act 
of the Spanish Intendant was a violation of the treaty, 
and pledging to the Federal Government, “ourselves 
to support at the expense of our lives and fortunes, 
such measures as the honor and interests of the United 
States may require.’’ About this time Spain refused 
to approve of the act of the Intendant at New Orleans, 
declaring it was “purely personal” and “without the 
sanction” of His Spanish Majesty and thus avoided a 
threatened conflict. 

Louisiana Purchase.—Now no declaration of war had 
been made between us and France, though there had 
been a number of naval battles, and a bloody war 
seemed certain. Napoleon bargained for Louisiana 
with the view of establishing a great French province 
in America; however, France was on the eve of an¬ 
other war with Britain, and she made haste to sell 
the territory to the United States for fear England, 
who controlled the sea, would seize it. Jefferson, who 
was now President of the United States, seeing the 
danger of a French Empire springing up on our bor¬ 
der, became an eager buyer. So, in 1803, this vast do¬ 
main was purchased at a cost of only $15,000,000, or 
less than three cents an acre. Enthusiasm ran high in 
Kentucky when it was realized that at last the Mis¬ 
sissippi was open to free navigation, that a threaten¬ 
ing foe was removed from our back door, and that a 
boundless fertile territory was opened to settlement. 
Toasts were drunk to the President and Congress and 
the ministers who made the purchase. Strange to say, 
many of the Federalists denounced the purchase as 
unconstitutional, extravagant and foolish, and en- 




















































POLITICAL MOVEMENTS 


189 


deavored to prevent its ratification by Congress. 1 
They failed to see, as we do now, that a menace to 
our national growth had been removed, and that, as 
Napoleon said, when he signed the treaty, “I have 
now given to England a rival that shall some day 
humble her pride and break her power.” 

Some Results of the Louisiana Purchase.— The purchase 
of Louisiana was the greatest event of Jefferson’s ad¬ 
ministration. It prevented the setting up of an em¬ 
pire on our western border ; it gave us control of the 
Mississippi and other western waters; and it more 
than doubled the total area of our country at that 
time. The westward march of the United States, 
which had been temporarily stopped at the Missis¬ 
sippi, now suddenly leaped across its waters on to¬ 
ward the great Pacific. 

Greenup’s Administration.— In 1804, Christopher 
Greenup, who, like his two predecessors, had been a 
Revolutionary officer, was elected governor. Like his 
predecessors he was a man of strong character, firm, 
able and prudent in the discharge of his duties. The 
census of 1800 showed an enormous increase in the 
population of the State. There were now a total of 
221,955 inhabitants, which included 40,343 slaves and 
737 colored freemen. By 1810 the total population had 
increased to 406,511, of which 80,561 were slaves, 
and 1,713 were colored freemen. 

Westward Expansion.— Before the purchase of Loui- 

1 Jefferson was taunted because he took greater liberties with the 
Constitution than the Federalists had ever done. He admitted this, but 
replied that the opportunity was too golden to let slip, and that the 
people would ratify his act. And so they did. 


190 


KENTUCKY 


siana, settlers were pressing against the western 
boundaries and some had even settled in Spanish terri¬ 
tory. As early as 1795 Daniel Boone and some com¬ 
panions had crossed the Mississippi and settled in 
what is now the State of Missouri. It was due to this 
pressure of the western people, that the purchase of 
Louisiana territory was brought about. As Mr. Roose¬ 
velt tells us, “The winning of Louisiana was due to no 
one man, and least of all to any statesman or set of 
statesmen. It followed inevitably upon the great west¬ 
ward thrust of the settler-folk; a thrust which was de¬ 
livered blindly, but which no rival race could parry, 
until it was stopped by the ocean itself.” Again the 
hour had struck for the forward movement of the 
pioneers who had floated down the Ohio or passed over 
Cumberland Gap to settle the wilderness. The Ken¬ 
tuckian was by birth and training a colonizer, and as 
soon &s the western barrier was removed he eagerly 
pressed on to new adventures and to the founding of 
new States. 

The Great Religious Revival. —During the first years 
of this century a great religious revival spread 
throughout the State. The fervent zeal of Methodism 
that took hold upon the rugged Kentucky settlers 
amounted to fanaticism. The Baptists, Presbyterians, 
and other Christian denominations caught the re¬ 
ligious spirit of the times. The pause in warfare had 
relieved the strain of a hazardous life and had given 
the minds of the people a chance to take account of 
their spiritual welfare. The rugged backwoodsmen 
now prayed and shouted with a fury that equalled the 
bloody courage with which they defended their homes 


POLITICAL MOVEMENTS 


191 


and killed and scalped their savage foe. Camp meet¬ 
ings were held everywhere. One held at Paris is said 
to have been attended by twenty thousand people. 
The frontier preacher condemned sin and the sinner 
in the rugged language of backwoods days. Thou¬ 
sands were thrown into nervous rigors, called “jerks,” 
which were then believed to be signs of divine power. 
The extreme sordidness of a material life was fol¬ 
lowed by an extreme spiritual excitement. Between 
people deeply religious, and the godless and lawless 
elements bitter hatred sometimes sprang up that re¬ 
sulted in open conflicts. Sometimes the frontier 
preacher was assaulted by a hardened sinner, and often 
the former “thrashed a confession” out of the sin¬ 
ner’s soul. Such religious fury may seem strange to 
the reader, but the revival did much good. The Ken¬ 
tucky people needed a baptism of the “gospel fire.” 
In many cases the results were momentary, but, upon 
the whole, it left a blessed influence, and did much to 
smooth away the ruggedness and bloody rudeness of 
former years. 


QUESTIONS AND SUGGESTIONS. 

What circumstance led to a revision of the State Constitution? 
What changes were made? What effect did the treaty with Spain have 
upon the commerce of Kentucky? What enemies stood in the way of 
the development of foreign trade? Why was the purchase of Louisiana 
important to Kentucky? Give some of the results of the purchase. 
Tell about the great westward expansion. Describe the religious're¬ 
vival that swept over the country at this time. 


CHAPTER XXX 

BURR’S CONSPIRACY 


BATTLE OF TIPFECANOE 

With the coming of peace and prosperity to the 
Kentuckians, and with the opening of the vast 
stretches of rich soil of the Louisiana Territory to 
free settlement, no excuse for disloyalty or discontent 
remained. Nor under such conditions were there any 
chances for successful conspiracies and intrigues. Be¬ 
sides, the people had grown more loyal to the Federal 
Government and were ready to oppose its enemies by 
war, if necessary. Notwithstanding these facts, there 
were some reckless border spirits who were easily de¬ 
ceived by bold adventurous leaders who championed 
any daring enterprise. 

In the spring of 1805, one of the most brilliant, one 
of the most fascinating and resourceful men in Ameri¬ 
can history, arrived in Kentucky. He was a grandson 
of Jonathan Edwards, had been Vice-President of the 
United States and had missed the presidency by only 
one vote. He was a political opponent of Alexander 
Hamilton, and in a duel had slain his rival. Dis¬ 
credited politically in the East, and condemned by 
public sentiment, he fled to Kentucky. He was a rest¬ 
less, ambitious man of great genius, but withal un¬ 
scrupulous and unpatriotic. He came to the West 
with his mind haunted with dreams of founding an 

192 


BURR’S CONSPIRACY 


193 


empire in the new territory. He knew of the unrest 
and rebellious intrigues that had disturbed Kentucky 
for many years, but seems not to have known that the 
western people were now loyal and contented. 

Blennerhassett.—Burr first visited Herman Blenner- 
hassett, a rich, romantic Irishman, who lived on a 
large island in the Ohio, near Marietta. He enlisted 
Blennerhassett and his fortune in his wild scheme. 1 
He visited many other places and called upon the lead¬ 
ing men of the West, but most of all he sought out 
General James Wilkinson, his Revolutionary com¬ 
panion-in-arms, and a man he already knew to be ‘ 1 fit 
for treasons, strategems and spoils.” He met General 
Wilkinson, probably by agreement, at Fort Massac on 
the Ohio. Wilkinson was now a commander of the 
armies of the United States, and, at the time, governor 
of Louisiana. However, he lent Burr an interested 
ear, and fitted him out with a fine boat in which to 
proceed to New Orleans, and gave him a letter to 
Daniel Clark, the richest man in that city. Burr was 
warmly received in New Orleans and got much en¬ 
couragement in his treasonable undertaking from cer¬ 
tain dissatisfied people. On his return he again vis¬ 
ited General Wilkinson, now at St. Louis. In the 
meantime, Wilkinson had tested his officers and found 
they were loyal to the Union, and that the people would 
not be moved by Burr ’s intrigues. Accordingly he re¬ 
fused to take further part in the scheme. 

* Burr Solicits Aid of the British Minister.—Before leav¬ 
ing Philadelphia, Burr had talked over his plans with 
Mr. Merry, the British Minister, in an endeavor to 

*Read the story, ‘ 1 Blennerhassett, •* ’ by Pidgin. 


194 


KENTUCKY 


enlist the aid of England. He believed that country 
would back him in any project that would stand in the 
way of the growth of the United States. He returned 
to Washington in the fall and called upon the British 
Minister to learn, with dismay, that England would 
not enter into his scheme. During the few months he 

remained in the East he 
sought out his old friends 
and any one else who had 
a grievance against the 
government, in an effort to 
enlist them in his enter¬ 
prise. 

Burr Returns to Kentucky. 

*—In 1806 he again started 
west accompanied by his 
brilliant and devoted 
daughter, Theodosia, who 
was now the wife of Gov. 
ernor Alston, of South 
Carolina. They stopped at 
the Blennerhassett’s, where 
Theodosia remained, while 
her father proceeded to Cincinnati, Nashville, and 
other places. Preparations were now being made 
for the expedition. Boats were built at Marietta and 
on the Cumberland; provisions were purchased and 
men were enlisted and armed. Burr moved from town 
to town with the energy and speed that marks a man 
of iron will. 

Vague Plans.—Most of those who enlisted with him 
believed the sole object of the expedition was the con- 





BURR’S CONSPIRACY 


195 


quest of Mexico. He told every kind of story, varying 
them according to the person or suitableness of the 
time. “It is always difficult to find out exactly what 
a conspirator of Burr ’s type really intended, and ex¬ 
actly how guilty his various temporary friends and 
allies were.” 1 It is likely that his plans were not 
well formed in his own 
mind, and that after his ex¬ 
pedition was once launched, 
he would be guided by the 
current of events. Certain 
it is, that he dreamed of a 
great western empire and 
of himself as its powerful 
ruler. But all his dreams 
of power, and of the sepa¬ 
ration of the West from 
the East, were foredoomed 
to failure. His endeavor 
to draw General Jackson, 

General Adair, and others 
into his plans has left a 
cloud upon the name of each, though it is believed 
they committed themselves to Burr’s scheme only 
upon his statement that he had the backing of the 
Federal Government. Reports of Burr’s treason hav¬ 
ing reached President Jefferson, he ordered an investi¬ 
gation. Orders were also issued to all Federal officers 
in the West to be on their guard and to resist any 
treasonable attempt that might be made. 

Burr’s First Trial.— About this time Joseph Hamilton 

1 Roosevelt, “The Winning of the West,” Vol. VI, p. 225. 








196 


KENTUCKY 


Daveiss, United States District Attorney, appeared 
at Frankfort and brought a charge of high treason 
against Burr. Burr had many friends in Kentucky. 
Daveiss, who was a despised Federalist, was accused 
of persecuting a political enemy. Interest in the trial 
ran high. Burr employed Henry Clay and John Allen 
for his counsel. Clay, who was now a United States 
Senator, being a loyal patriot, refused to defend Burr 
unless the latter would give him a written pledge of 
his innocence. This Burr did, and the written assur¬ 
ance of innocence completely deceived Clay, who set 
about Burr’s defense. After many delays the jury 
returned a verdict in Burr’s favor, which his friends 
celebrated by giving a ball in his honor. Daveiss and 
Marshall -who had mistrusted and exposed Burr’s 
schemes, were condemned for a time, but the present 
verdict of history shows that they were right and 
popular clamor was wrong. 

Notwithstanding his acquittal, Burr’s ambitious 
dreams of wealth and kingly power now clouded what 
might have been a brilliant career. A thunderbolt in 
the form of a proclamation from the President struck 
and shattered his whole scheme. At last Jefferson was 
awake to the danger of the plot which he had 
been watching, and ordered Burr’s arrest. Wilkinson, 
who was now in New Orleans, made a brave show of 
his patriotism by arresting many suspects, none of 
whom were as guilty as himself. He had already de¬ 
serted Burr, and openly betrayed him, but at heart he 
himself was still a traitor. 

Burr’s Arrest and Second Trial.—In the meantime, 
Burr’s little flotilla of boats had started down the Ohio 


BURR’S CONSPIRACY 


197 


on their inglorious expedition. Hearing of the Presi¬ 
dent’s proclamation, Burr abandoned his party when 
near Natchez, and disguised as a riverman, fled east¬ 
ward through the woods. After many hardships and 
remarkable perils he was captured and brought to 
trial. After a long and exciting trial which took place 
at Richmond, Virginia, he was acquitted on the plea 
that his plans had not been carried far enough to 
violate the Constitution, which says that treason 
“shall consist only in levying war against” the 
United States “or in adhering to their enemies, giving 
them aid and comfort.” The charge against Burr 
was not legally proven. The jury, therefore, ac¬ 
quitted him, but the American people have ever re¬ 
garded him with just suspicion. 

Burr’s Punishment.—Burr visited many foreign coun¬ 
tries, but everywhere he was looked upon with mis¬ 
trust. His dishonor followed him to all lands and, for 
a time, he became a man without a country. He finally 
returned to New York and took up his practice of law 
and honorably set about paying off his many debts. 
His devoted daughter, Theodosia, and her child lost 
their lives in a storm at sea and the saddened man 
was left alone in his old age. His last days were 
filled with deeds of charity, and doubtless he fully re¬ 
pented his folly. 

Governor Scott.—General Charles Scott succeeded 
Greenup as governor in 1808. John Allen, a promis¬ 
ing young lawyer, was his opponent, but the Ken¬ 
tuckians honored the military services of General 
Scott by choosing him as their chief executive. At 
this time the tide of settlers was moving north and 


198 


KENTUCKY 


westward from Kentucky. The Indians along the 
Wabash grew restless on account of this advance and 
arose in rebellion under their chiefs, Tecumseh and his 
brother, the Prophet. They were further urged to 
war by the English, who now expected another conflict 
with the United States. 

Battle of Tippecanoe.—General William Henry Harri¬ 
son, who was now governor of the Indiana Territory, 
called for volunteers to subdue the warring tribes 
along the Wabash. Many of the brave Kentuckians 
eagerly responded to the call. A battle was fought 
at Tippecanoe November 7, 1811. Harrison was sur¬ 
prised by a night attack but he drove off the enemy, 
who sustained a considerable loss. Among the Ken¬ 
tuckians slain were Colonel Joseph H. Daveiss and 
Colonel Abraham Owen. In honor of their noble lives 
and heroic' death, Daveiss and Owen Counties bear 
their names. Events were now moving swiftly toward 
a second* war with Great Britain. 


QUESTIONS AND SUGGESTIONS. 

What special reasons did the people have at this time to be loyal 
and contented? Who was Aaron Burr? Who was Blennerhassett? 
Give an account of Burr’s treasonable schemes. Describe his arrest 
and first trial. Why was he not found guilty on his second trial? In 
what way was he punished? Question for class debate: Resolved tha 
Aaron Burr was not guilty of treason. Tell about the Battle of 
Tippecanoe. 


CHAPTER XXXI 

KENTUCKY IN THE WAK OF 1812 

England and France had been almost continuously 
at war during- the early part of this century. Each 
had forbidden neutral nations to trade with the other, 
and each had preyed upon the commerce of our coun¬ 
try. The United States had endeavored to remain 
neutral, and had submitted to many insults and in¬ 
juries rather than go to war. 

British Tyranny.—British ships often overhauled our 
vessels and seized our sailors on the pretext of their 
being Englishmen, saying, “Once an Englishman al¬ 
ways an Englishman. ’ ’ The American people were 
mostly English but not subjects of Britain. English¬ 
men, who had but recently become naturalized, and 
who were now citizens of the United States, were 
seized as deserters. In some cases even Americans 
who had fought in the Revolution for their independ¬ 
ence were taken, and were forced to serve in the Brit¬ 
ish navy. While the laws of nations do not forbid the 
search of vessels furnishing war supplies to an 
enemy, they do forbid the impressment of the citizens 
of a friendly country into the service of another. Eng¬ 
land needed sailors and soldiers to carry on her wars 
and used many false excuses for making these un¬ 
lawful searches, and for the impressment of our sea¬ 
men into her service. Jefferson and Madison, who 

199 


y 


200 


KENTUCKY 


were our presidents during these troublous years, 
made many efforts to avert war by peaceable meas¬ 
ures but without success. 

Troubles with France.—France likewise continued to 
make war upon our commerce, and in a few instances 
seized American vessels. Our rights were violated 
by both England and France and justified war against 
both. But our country was young and unprepared for 
war even with a single Power. The people remem¬ 
bered the bitter conflict with England and the help 
received from France in the Revolution, consequently, 
the majority clamored for war against England. 

The attacks made by the British navy upon our ves¬ 
sels brought forth a strong protest in Kentucky as 
early as 1808. Hatred for England had been smol¬ 
dering since the days of the Revolution. The British 
still held Canada and many posts about the Great 
Lakes, and from these they furnished arms and am¬ 
munition to the Indians. The western people had rea¬ 
sons to believe also that the British officers of Canada 
were encouraging the Indian attacks upon our fron¬ 
tier. LTnder date of January 6, 1808, the Kentucky 
House of Representatives declared that, “we are will¬ 
ing not only to express the public sentiment, but also 
to pledge our honor, our blood and treasure in sup¬ 
port of such measures as may be adopted by the gen¬ 
eral government, to secure and protect the peace, 
dignity, and independence of the Union against foreign 
invasion, and to chastise and bring to a state of reason 
our haughty and imperious foes.” 1 War against 
England became a fireside topic in every Kentucky 

*See McElroy, “Kentucky in the Nation’s History,” p. 317. 


WAR OF 1812 


201 


home, and the newspapers of the States charged the 
British navy with 4 4 acts of perfidy and murder. ’ ’ The 
West was eager for war, and fretted at the timid and 
hesitating policy of the Federal Government. Such 
was the temper of the people that Henry Clay and 
many other Kentuckians favored the wresting of 
Canada completely from 
the British. 

Attitude of New England. 

—Many of the Federalists 
of New England were in¬ 
terested in commerce with 
Britain and other foreign 
lands, and opposed the war 
as a bad financial policy, 
as well as needless and 
wicked. As usual, in great 
questions, the opinion of 
the people was divided. 

War Declared. —But de¬ 
lays only added greater in¬ 
sults and injuries. Finally 
the peace-loving Madison yielded to popular demands 
and signed a declaration of war against England, 
June 18, 1812. The long-delayed crisis had come, 
bringing with it the suffering and woe that belong to 
war. The people of the West rejoiced at an oppor¬ 
tunity for revenge, but New England hotly opposed 
an armed conflict, and her business men refused to 
loan money to carry on the fight. The Federalist 
leaders of this section talked freely of secession from 
the Union in preference to war. 



Henry Clay 

The Great Pacificator. 




202 


KENTUCKY 


Kentucky to the Front.— The Government requested 
of Kentucky five thousand five hundred men, but many 
more than that number volunteered. The noble re¬ 
sentment against the tyranny of England called forth 
the best and most worthy of her sons, and many sacri¬ 
ficed their lives in the war that followed. While the 
battle of Tippecanoe had been fought before war was 
declared, it was a prelude to the conflict. The Indian 
attacks which led to this battle had been encouraged 
by the talk of war between our country and England. 

On August 15, two thousand troops, consisting of 
regulars and volunteers, assembled at Georgetown] 
and were placed under the command of General John 
Payne. Before their departure they w r ere addressed 
by Henry Clay, a “War Hav r k,” who rallied their 
fighting spirit and encouraged them to heroic action. 1 
On their march to Detroit, the troops learned of its 
cowardly surrender by General Hull. Governor Scott 
at once called in council some leading statesmen and 
citizens of Kentucky to consider the war situation. 
This council decided “to give Harrison a brevet com¬ 
mission of Major General in the militia of Kentucky, 
and to authorize him to take command of the detach¬ 
ment now marching to Detroit.” 

Shelby Becomes Governor Again. —Governor Scott’s 
term of office at this time expired, and Isaac Shelby, 
his successor, received Harrison’s formal acceptance 
and referred his appointment to President Madison. 
Notwithstanding this unusual and irregular method, 

1 Tho young Republicans, led by Henry Clay of Kentucky and John C. 
Calhoun of South Carolina, who ardently favored war against England, 
were called ‘ ‘ W T ar Hawks , 11 


WAR OF 1812 


203 


Madison submitted to the wishes of the Kentuckians 
and appointed Harrison instead of General James 
Winchester whom he had already selected. The Ken¬ 
tuckians trusted the hero of Tippecanoe and many 
more mounted volunteers gathered under his banner 
at once. The war spirit ran high, and the Kentucky 
papers boasted that if occasion required, “there would 
be scarcely a male inhabitant left in the State capable 
of bearing arms.” 

The difficulties that lay before General Harrison 
were increased by Hull’s disgraceful surrender of the 
strong post at Detroit. The administration had prom¬ 
ised Harrison ten thousand troops, but there were 
never more than six thousand in service at any one 
time. It was a long and difficult march across savage- 
infested swamps to the scene of the conflict. Winter 
had set in, and there was much suffering; many hard¬ 
ships, due to poor equipment and bad management of 
army stores were endured. On January 10, 1813, the 
Kentucky troops reached the Rapids of the Maumee, 
and there awaited the arrival of General Harrison. 
Since the time of their enlistment in August, they had 
done but little except to march and suffer, and destroy 
a few Indian villages. They were encamped in a 
frozen wilderness, their time of enlistment was about 
to expire without their having had the glorious thrill 
of a victory. That they probably would have to re¬ 
turn to their State as do-nothings disheartened them. 

First Battle of Frenchtown. —Then came a call from 
Frenchtown on the river Raisin, thirty-eight miles 
away, for help to prevent a threatened massacre by 
the savage allies of the British. General Winchester 


204 


KENTUCKY 


at once dispatched about six hundred Kentucky vol¬ 
unteers under Colonels William Lewis and John Al¬ 
len, who routed a large body of Indians and captured 
Frenchtown. A strong force of British was not far 
away, General Harrison and the main army was too 
far to support him, yet Winchester with a re-enforce- 

ment of two hundred and 
fifty regulars under Colonel 
Wells hastened to French¬ 
town. Shortly after his ar¬ 
rival, General Winchester 
was informed that a large 
force of British and In¬ 
dians was on its way to 
attack him. In spite of this 
warning the most fatal 
security was felt, and little 
effort was made to prevent 
a surprise. “The news,” 
says McAfee, “must have 
been discredited, * . . Col 
onel Lewis and Major Madison alone seemed to be on 
the alert; they cautioned their men to be prepared at 
all times for an attack.” 1 

Second Battle of Frenchtown.— Suddenly in the early 
morning of January 22, the little band was at¬ 
tacked by Colonel Proctor at the head of two thou 
sand regulars and Indians. The company of Amer¬ 
ican regulars which was encamped in an open field 
became panic-stricken and fled, pursued by the 

1 McAfee’s “History of the Late War in the Western Country/' 

p. 212. 



William Henry Harrison 





WAR OF 1812 


205 


slaughtering savages. Colonels Lewis and Allen led 
two companies from the shelter of the palisade and 
made a gallant effort to stay the panic but without 
effect, save to add more victims to the slaughter. The 
brave and brilliant young Allen was killed and Colonel 
Lewis was wounded and taken prisoner. General 
Winchester came upon the scene only in time to re¬ 
alize the tragedy of his neglect, and to be overpowered 
and captured while frantically endeavoring to rally 
his regulars. All was lost except most of the Kentucky 
volunteers who were sheltered behind the stockade. 
This unconquered, defiant band held off the enemy un¬ 
til requested by General Winchester to surrender on 
a promise from Proctor that all prisoners would be 
protected from his Indian allies. 

Massacre of The Raisin. —The wounded Americans 
were left unprotected in the camp at Frenchtown. At 
dawn of the next day two hundred drunken savages, 
painted in hideous colors, fell upon these helpless 
prisoners with knife, tomahawk, and torch and did 
not spare a wounded soldier. The massacre of “The 
Raisin” became a name of horror in Kentucky, and, 
“Remember the Raisin,” the defiant war cry in many 
battles that followed. Colonel Proctor failed to pro¬ 
tect his helpless prisoners, and for his failure has re¬ 
ceived the merited censure of all humane people. 
There was mourning in many Kentucky homes for 
heroes who would never return. There fell then many 
of Kentucky’s noblest sons, and the names of the 
heroes, Allen, Edmonson, Graves, Hart, and Hickman, 
honor the counties of Kentucky that now bear them. 
In the wake of this tragedy it is easy to see the wis- 



206 


KENTUCKY 


dom of Kentucky in demanding Harrison instead of 
Winchester as commander of the army. 

General Harrison in command of the right wing of 
the Western army reached the Rapids of the Maumee 
the same day Winchester entered Frenchtown. When 
told of the first battle of Frenchtown and Win¬ 
chester’s advance, he at once realized that with the 
two wings of his small army separated in the enemy’s 
country, both were in danger of being destroyed. He 
sent to Governor Shelby in Kentucky for immediate 
re-enforcements and hurriedly set about the construc¬ 
tion of Fort Meigs on the Maumee. When he learned 
of Winchester’s defeat and the massacre that fol¬ 
lowed, he realized that his position was extremely 
critical. The time of enlistment of many of the vol¬ 
unteers had expired, and they refused to remain in 
so dangerous a position. Fortunately, Colonel Proc¬ 
tor did not follow up his victory at Frenchtown, and 
General Harrison’s army escaped an attack until forti¬ 
fied and re-enforced. 1 


QUESTIONS AND SUGGESTIONS. 

Why did the attacks on the United States vessels injure the com¬ 
merce of Kentucky? Was the attitude of the Kentucky people to France 
and England the same? Did Kentucky favor war with either? How 
was the declaration of war received by the people of the West? 
What was the attitude of the people of New England? Describe the 
first and second battles of Frenchtown. Give an account of the mas¬ 
sacre of the Raisin. What circumstances made General Harrison’s 
position dangerous? 

1 An excellent account of this campaign is given in Young’s “ Battle 
of the Thames,” Filson Club Publication, Louisville. 


CHAPTER XXXII 

CLOSE OF THE WAR OF 1812 

BATTLES OF THE THAMES AND NEW ORLEANS 1 

In response to General Harrison’s call for re-en¬ 
forcements, Isaac Shelby, Kentucky’s gallant Gov¬ 
ernor, at once enlisted four thousand men and 
placed them under the command of General Green 
Clay. In the meantime, the British had placed their 
batteries above and below Fort Meigs and stationed 
Tecumseh and his warriors to prevent General Clay’s 
re-enforcements from joining Harrison. Colonel 
William Dudley’s force of eight hundred men, which 
was sent to the north shore of the Maumee to capture 
the enemies’ batteries, “elated by (their) success, fol¬ 
lowed the Indians, and was cut to pieces.” Only one 
hundred and fifty escaped, and these were saved by 
the noble Tecumseh, who rushed into the midst of the 
slaughter with drawn sword and controlled the sav¬ 
ages. After a short siege, which was vigorously re¬ 
pelled, Colonel Proctor, learning of the fall of Fort 
George, hastily retired to Fort Malden on the Detroit 
River. Harrison sent to Kentucky for re-enforce¬ 
ments, and began preparations for an attack upon 
Malden. 

Call for Volunteers.—Governor Shelby called for more 

‘An excellent account of the War of 1812 may be found in Smith’s 
(i History of Kentucky,” Chapter XXIV. 

207 


208 


KENTUCKY 


volunteers to meet at Newport, August 31, prepared 
for a campaign. Said he, “I will meet you there in 
person, I will lead you to the field of battle, and share 
with you the dangers and honors of the campaign. ” 
The watchword, “Old King’s Mountain will lead us 
to victory!”, expressed the full confidence of the 

people in their Governor, 
the hero of King’s Moun¬ 
tain. Colonel Richard M. 
Johnson, member of Con¬ 
gress from Kentucky, 
raised a regiment of 
mounted volunteers and 
marched to the front. 
Majors John J. Crittenden 
and William T. Barry, two 
eloquent young officers on 
Governor Shelby’s staff, 
made fiery speeches to the 

Richard M. Johnson troops and urged them to 

“Remember the Raisin.” 
They stirred every soldier’s heart to deadly action by 
their patriotic appeals. The combined forces of Har¬ 
rison and Shelby united on the southern shore of Lake 
Erie near Put-in-Bay September 21. 

During the spring of 1813, Captain Oliver H. Perry 
had built a fleet on Lake Erie. With this he met the 
British fleet under Captain Barclay and utterly de¬ 
feated it, and sent to General Harrison his famous 
message, “We have met the enemy, and they are ours 
—two ships, two brigs, one schooner and one sloop.” 
Governor Shelby’s re-enforcements reached the camp 









CLOSE OF THE WAR 


209 


of General Harrison at the time Captain Perry was 
landing his prisoners. 

Colonel Johnson and his cavalry division, which had 
been left at Fort Meigs, now joined the rest of the 
army at Detroit. The army supplies and many of the 
soldiers were transported by Perry’s fleet to Malden, 
which was found deserted and in ruins. Harrison 
pushed on rapidly in pursuit of Proctor, who was com¬ 
pelled to abandon much of his baggage in his flight. 

Battle of the Thames.—On October 5, 1813, the Ameri¬ 
cans came upon the enemy in a protected position on 
the river Thames, eighty-six miles northeast of Detroit. 
Upon landing on Canadian soil Governor Shelby said 
to his troops, “Remember the Raisin River’’, to which 
Harrison added, “but remember it only whilst victory 
is suspended. The revenge of a soldier can not be 
gratified on a fallen enemy.” Three thousand Ameri¬ 
cans, nearly all of whom were Kentuckians, now faced 
nearly an equal number of British regulars and In¬ 
dians. Harrison granted Colonel Johnson’s request 
to charge the British line with his cavalry regiment, 
and placed General Henry’s and General Desha’s di¬ 
visions in a manner to support the attack. Colonel 
Johnson appointed his brother. Lieutenant Colonel 
James Johnson, to charge the British regulars in front, 
while he himself led the charge against the Indians 
concealed in a wooded swamp. With the cry of, “Re¬ 
member the Raisin,” the Kentuckians dashed forward 
and soon put to rout or captured the main British 
force. Tecumseh and his trained warriors, however, 
bravely stood their ground. Colonel Johnson now 
chose a band of twenty picked men to lead a ‘ ‘ Forlorn 


210 


KENTUCKY 


Hope” across the swamp to awe the savages and to 
draw their fire, and thus render safer the advance of 
the main body of troops before the Indians could re¬ 
load their guns. Never was there a more heroic battle 
plan proposed, but the blood of Kentucky pioneers 
ran red in their veins that day, and they did not shrink 
from the sacrifice that was required. The charge was 
met by a terrible fire from fifteen hundred savage 
riflemen. Of the twenty who entered the charge, fifteen 
lay dying and the rest were wounded. 1 Colonel John¬ 
son alone, though many times wounded, sat in his 
saddle. Behind the “Forlorn Hope” advanced the 
infantry, and for fifteen minutes the savages held their 
ground. Then fell the brave and noble Tecumseh, and 
with his fall a wail of grief and despair arose from 
savage throats. The Indians fled, the day was won, 
and the Raisin avenged. This complete victory ended 
the war in the Northwest. 

We can not call.the roll of all who honored our State 
by their heroic deeds in this campaign, but the reader 
should know a few of the distinguished leaders. There 
were General John Adair, the loyal Kentuckian, who 
afterwards fought the British at New Orleans; Barry 
and Crittenden, the brilliant young orators and brave 
soldiers; General Joseph Desha, afterwards governor 
of Kentucky; Colonels Richard M. Johnson and 
Charles Todd, who served our State in Congress. The 


1 William Whitley, of Lincoln County, Kentucky, led the charge and 
was killed. Johnson rode in the charge also, and is credited with having 
slain Tecumseh. There are reasons for believing that Whitley killed 
Tecumseh. Several chiefs were slain in the fight and all statements 
concerning the manner of their deaths are liable to error. 


CLOSE OF THE WAR 


211 


report of the battle made by General Harrison to 
President Madison mentions the zeal and courage of 
Shelby, Henry, Desha, Trotter, McDowell, Walker, 
Adair, Barry, Crittenden, and others. But most of 
all, the honor is to those who gave their lives for their 
country and who sleep under Canadian soil. War 
means woe, is always wicked, and is never justified 
except in defense of the right. It is to the credit of 
the Kentuckians that the British and Indian prisoners 
were treated kindly in spite of the desire to revenge 
the massacre of The Raisin. Following the charge 
made upon the British regulars, the cowardly Proctor 
fled through the woods with a few of his men and 
escaped. 

Other events of victory and defeat in this war had 
occurred on land and sea, an account of which does not 
belong in a history of Kentucky. Our Government 
had never ceased to plead for a just and peaceable 
settlement of the trouble, and negotiations finally led 
to the Treaty of Ghent, December 24, 1814. 

Battle of New Orleans.—In those days there were no 
telegraph lines, cables or other means of rapid com¬ 
munication. So, before news of the treaty reached 
America several more battles were fought. To one 
of these we must now turn our attention because of 
the important part that Kentuckians took in it. 
Napoleon had been overthrown by the Duke of Well¬ 
ington at the battle of Waterloo in June, 1814, and 
this had released a powerful army for service in Amer¬ 
ica. Ten thousand of Wellington’s troops were now 
sent to America under Sir Edward Packenham, a 
brother-in-law of the Great Duke. Our situation was 


212 


KENTUCKY 


extremely critical. It was learned that Packenham’s 
army would attack New Orleans, which was unpro¬ 
tected. General Andrew Jackson was appointed com¬ 
mander of the regular troops and all the militia that 
could be mustered before the blow fell. Jackson, who 
was a brave man of speedy and heroic action, made 
haste to put New Orleans in a state of defense. By 
the time the British landed he had an army of about 
four thousand six hundred men at his command, 
more than half of whom were Kentucky and Tennessee 
riflemen. Many of the militia had only their squirrel 
rifles and muskets, but they were skillful marksmen and 
gave a good account of themselves in the battle. On 
December 23, the British landed on a strip of ground 
eight miles below the city. Here Jackson made a sharp 
night attack upon them and drove them back until re¬ 
enforcements came up. He was playing for more time 
to complete his defenses and for the arrival of ex¬ 
pected re-enforcements. Jackson was all action, but 
fortunately Packenham was stupidly slow, else New 
Orleans might have fallen into his hands. Martial law 
was declared, slaves were compelled to dig ditches and 
throw up breastworks, and every available man and 
gun were impressed into service. January 8, 1815, 
the British army moved against the American breast¬ 
works with their royal artillery and red-coated 
columns of infantry. They came forward under per¬ 
fect discipline, with colors flying and drums beating, 
while the American regulars and the backwoodsmen, 
eager for battle, awaited them from behind their 
breastworks. The battle parade of the British was in¬ 
tended to show their contempt for the American back- 


CLOSE OF THE WAR 


213 


woodsmen and to awe these sons of the forest with 
their own superiority in arms. Soon the American 
artillery began to tear through the solid lines of the 
British army with telling effect. When within rifle 
shot, a withering fire was poured into the closed ranks 
of the advancing enemy and they turned and fled. 
Twice they were rallied and twice more they were 
repulsed with dreadful slaughter. General Packen- 
ham and a number of the officers were among the slain. 
The trained veterans of Wellington, thoroughly beaten 
by the American backwoodsmen, withdrew to their 
ships—New Orleans was saved! 1 

The enemv lost twenty-six hundred killed, wounded, 
and prisoners, while the loss of the Americans was 


1 The daring coolness and unerring aim of the Kentucky riflemen is 
well illustrated in a story told by a British officer who observed the 
movements of the Americans through a field glass. ‘ ‘ What attracted our 
attention most, ’ ’ says this officer, ‘ ‘ was the figure of a tall man stand¬ 
ing on the breastworks, dressed in linsey-woolsey, with buckskin leggins, 
and a broad-brimmed felt hat that fell around the face, almost conceal¬ 
ing the features. He was standing in one of those picturesque graceful 
attitudes peculiar to those natural men dwelling in the forests. . . . 
At last he moved, threw back his hat-rim over the crown with his left 
hand, raised the rifle to the shoulder and took aim at our group. Our 
eyes were riveted upon him . . . but the distance w T as great. . . . We 
saw the rifle flash. . . . My right hand companion, as noble a fellow as 
ever rode at the head of a regiment, fell from his saddle. ’ ’ And, con¬ 
tinues the narrative further on, “Again did he reload and discharge his 
rifle, with the same unfailing aim, and the same unfailing result; and 
it was with indescribable pleasure that I beheld, as we neared the 
American lines, the sulphurous cloud gathering around us, and shutting 
that spectral hunter from our gaze. We lost the battle and to my mind, 
the Kentucky rifleman contributed more to our defeat, than anything 
else; for w’hile he remained in our sight, our attention w T as drawn from 
our duties ”... etc. The backwoodsman referred to above was Ephraim 
M. Brank of Greenville, Ky. For full account of this heroic incident, 
see McElroy’s “Kentucky in the Nation’s History,” p. 362, or Roth- 
ert’s ‘ ‘ History of Muhlenberg County. ’ * 


214 


KENTUCKY 


only seventy-one killed and wounded. 1 This decisive 
victory greatly redeemed the inglorious land cam¬ 
paigns that had been carried on during the war. On 
account of the illness of General Thomas, the command 
of the Kentucky troops fell to General John Adair, 
who gave a good account of himself and his Kentucky 
riflemen in the bloody conflict. 

Results of the War.—Upon the wreck of this war the 
people became united. Those who had called the Hart¬ 
ford Convention in Hartford, Connecticut, to protest 
against the war and to threaten secession, were now 
busy denying their unpatriotic intentions. But their 
action and the general refusal of the Federalists to 
support the war put an end to the old Federalist Party. 
The success of the war did much to unite the people, 
and to usher in what is known in the history of our 
country as the 4 ‘Era of good feeling.” The Treaty 
of Ghent gave to the United States absolute control 
of the Mississippi and the vast territory washed by 
its shores. 


QUESTIONS AND SUGGESTIONS. 

• 

How did Kentucky respond to Harrison’s call for more troops? 
Name some of the leading officers from Kentucky who took part in 
the war. Tell the story of the Battle of the Thames. Describe the 
Battle of New Orleans. Tell the story of Ephraim M. Brank given in 
the footnote. What good results followed the war? 

1 These were the losses that occurred in the main battle on January 
8. There had been a number of losses on both sides in previous 
skirmishes. 


CHAPTER XXXIII 

FINANCIAL STRUGGLES 

Geokge Madison, who was elected governor in 1816, 
suddenly died. The first contest in the legislature 
arose over the question whether it had the power to 
call another election to fill the vacancy. After a heated 
contest, no election was ordered and Gabriel Slaughter, 
the Lieutenant Governor, became Governor, which po¬ 
sition he held until 1820. 

Forty years had passed since the settlement of Ken¬ 
tucky. The close of the conflict of 1812, gave promise 
of an era of peace, but from many years of battle 
strife the Kentuckians turned to a period of political 
and financial troubles that disturbed the peace and 
hindered the progress of the Commonwealth. The 
Kentuckians had been schooled in the arts of border 
warfare and had learned but little of the arts of peace. 
They had come into possession of vast areas of fertile 
lands stretching north, south and west, even beyond 
the border of the State. Many had already pushed on 
across the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers in their greed 
for land and love of adventure. Little thought had 
been given to the political and financial welfare of the 
State. Grave problems now arose and many serious 
blunders were made, but in time, as we shall see, the 
people saw the weakness of these follies and profited 
by their mistakes. 

Scarcity of Money.—During these earlier years there 

215 


♦ 


216 


KENTUCKY 


was but little money in circulation and most of the 
trading was done by bartering. Tobacco and the skins 
of animals were the favorite mediums of exchange of 
values. There were but few coins in circulation and 
the dollars were cut into halves, quarters and eighths 
to make change. 1 

Confusion in values also resulted from the circula¬ 
tion of money from other countries. 

An extensive trade had been carried on with New 
Orleans and from thence by sea with other markets 
that brought into the State many coins. These coins 
represented to the traders real values, but when paper 
money, bills or bank notes appeared, they hesitated 
to accept it. This prejudice was largely due to their 
unpleasant remembrance of the worthless Continental 
currency that had been issued by the colonies many 
years before. 

The Beginning of Banking.—The people were without 
any practical knowledge of banking and looked upon 
banks as enemies of the poor people and friends of 
the rich. They did not know that banks are necessary 
for the financial good of all the people. The first form 
of banking came by an accident of legislation in 1802. 
A charter was granted at this time to the Kentucky 
Insurance Company for the purpose of insuring the 
cargoes of merchandise to New Orleans and other mar¬ 
kets, against accidents and losses. This company 
issued notes or certificates “payable to bearer” which 
were used for the payment of debts, just as bank notes 
are used. The company prospered, but it drew upon 

1 The eighths (12%l) became known as “bits,” hence the origin of 
the terms, two bits, six bits, etc. 


FINANCIAL STRUGGLES 


217 


itself the charge of being a “moneyed aristocracy” 
and, therefore, should be put down. 

Kinds of Money.—Before proceeding further with 
the story of Kentucky’s early financial troubles, it is 
well to consider a few of the principles that underlie 
sound money and sound banking. There are two kinds 
of money: coin, or specie; and paper money, that is, 
printed notes or bills which are promises to pay. 
Silver and gold, out of which most coins are made, 
are precious metals and have an intrinsic value. Of 
course the value of gold and silver changes from time 
tQ time but it is more stable than other values or forms 
of money. Paper money consists of bank or govern¬ 
ment promissory notes or bills, and is a good and safe 
money if the bank or government issuing it can redeem 
it in coin or other equivalents of value. 1 

While war was going on in Europe, America was 
cut off from foreign trade but this only encouraged 
the building of American factories. At the close of 
the European wars, foreign goods were again sent 
to the United States to be sold in competition with 
American manufactured articles. These foreign goods 
were better and cheaper than our new factories could 
turn out, hence many factories failed and a temporary 
financial depression followed. Then, too, the Euro¬ 
pean wars had caused the withdrawal of gold and 
silver from circulation and in its place paper currency 
was used. This currency not being considered good 
money caused the people to require more of it in pay- 

1 A careful explanation by the teacher of the principles of sound 
money will greatly aid the student in understanding the serious finan¬ 
cial troubles of Kentucky from 1802 to 1842. 


218 


KENTUCKY 


ment for merchandise, the effect of which made high 
prices. But at the close of the war, gold and silver 
again came into circulation. This return to “specie 
payment/’ that is, payment in coin, caused a drop in 
prices that led to bankruptcy. Many had gone into 
debt when prices were high and the loss in values 
meant for them bankruptcy. 1 ■ 

The Bank of Kentucky.—The Bank of Kentucky had 
been chartered in 1806, with a capital stock of one mil¬ 
lion dollars. It had played an important part in the 
financial welfare of the State, but following the war 
of 1812, upon the resumption of specie payment, hard 
times forced the bank to suspend payment. 2 To give 
the bank relief the legislature unwisely allowed it to 
increase its capital stock to three million dollars. But 
this act did not restore confidence in the bank. Debtors 
could not get money to pay their debts, and creditors 
declined to accept the bills of the suspended bank. 
Again, in 1815, the legislature declared that any credi¬ 
tor who shall “refuse to take pay for debt, in the notes 
of the suspended bank” shall not collect his debt for 
one year. This was unjust, and was unsound financier¬ 
ing. The legislators did not seem to know that the 
demand for bank notes is based on the bank’s ability 
to pay on demand. The managers of the banks did not 
understand the principles of sound banking, and the 
legislature proved to be a very poor physician in 
healing the financial ills. The people wanted relief 

1 The student should remember that paper money that was not con¬ 
sidered as good as specie had caused the raising of prices, and that with 
the return to “sound money’* it was but natural that prices should fall. 

2 That is, the Bank was unable to redeem in coin the paper money it 
had issued. 


FINANCIAL STRUGGLES 


219 


and required of the legislature a sort of financial, legis¬ 
lative quackery, whereas, time, industry, and economy 
were the proper remedies. The Bank of Kentucky had 
thirteen branches. In 1817, the legislature committed 
a still greater folly by making legal an agreement 
between the mother bank and its branches, by which 
none of these should be required to take the notes of 
the others. In other words, the creditors were re¬ 
quired to accept notes (paper money) that the banks 
had issued, but which the banks themselves now re¬ 
fused to receive from each other. 

The Forty Thieves.—There was great financial dis¬ 
tress on every hand. A cry went up for more money, 
and again the legislature blundered by chartering 
forty independent banks and giving to them the priv¬ 
ilege of issuing more currency than the amount of their 
capital stock. This, of course, put large amounts of 
paper money in circulation, and stimulated reckless 
spending and rash speculating. Soon these Inde¬ 
pendent Banks being unable to redeem their notes were 
popularly denounced as “The Forty Thieves.” In 
the meantime, the Bank of Kentucky had resumed the 
payment of its notes in coin, but the demand of the 
United States Bank which held many of its notes 
caused it to again suspend payment. For this, the 
United States Bank was bitterly condemned, because 
its act had brought financial ruin upon the State. 

Not profiting by their past experiences, the people 
demanded relief through legislation. The politicians 
saw in this clamor for “Relief” a popular campaign 
cry. After the election of 1820, a majority of the legis¬ 
lators stood pledged to give relief by legislation. 


220 


KENTUCKY 


Governor Adair.—The same year, General John 
Adair was elected Governor of Kentucky and he 
heartily approved of relief measures. The cry of the 
people was for money to relieve them from the burden 
of debt. Accordingly the legislature chartered the 
Bank of the Commonwealth with permission to 
issue large amounts of paper money which it was not 
required to redeem in gold and silver. It was roundly 
condemned by Humphrey Marshall and other mem¬ 
bers of the “Anti-Relief Party /’ as the “paper 
bubble” and the “paper mill.” Indeed, they were 
right, for a government can not create money by the 
mere operation of a printing press. Money represents 
a face value which calls for an equal value in coin or 
other things. 

A still greater crime was committed by the legisla¬ 
ture in requiring the creditor to receive this money in 
payment of money due him, and gave to the debtor the 
right to “replevy the debt for two years,” if the cred¬ 
itor refused. This meant that the creditor was com¬ 
pelled to accept money that was not worth its face 
value or receive nothing at all for two years. This, 
in addition to other probable delays and the possible 
failure of the securities, might cause a total loss to the 
creditor. 

Relief and Anti-Relief Parties.—Now the United States 
Constitution says that no State shall pass laws that 
will change or impair the obligation of contracts. It 
is clear that the laws passed by the legislature violated 
this section of the Constitution. Those who favored 
these laws were in the majority, and were known as 
the “Relief Party”; while the minority, who were op- 


FINANCIAL STRUGGLES 221 

posed to them, was known as the “Anti-Relief Party.” 
The majority vote thus violated the Constitution. 

The United States Constitution Upheld.—The question 
was brought before Judge James Clark of the Clark 
County District. In spite of threats and bitter 
criticisms hurled against him by the Relief Party, he 
decided the laws were unconstitutional and therefore 
void. He was called before a special session of the 
legislature, and violent efforts were made to intimidate 
or remove him. Judge Clark, however, gallantly stood 
by his decision and was quickly supported by Judge 
Blair, of Fayette County, in an able and eloquent de¬ 
cision against the Constitutionality of the “Relief” 
act. The question went at once -to the Court of Ap¬ 
peals, which was composed of Chief Justice Boyle, and 
William Owsley and Benjamin Mills, associate justices. 
These men, who soon became known as the “Old 
Court,” were men of high character and great legal 
ability. Notwithstanding threats of vengeance, should 
they decide against the wishes of the majority of the 
people, they kept silent. In the autumn of 1823, they 
calmly and resolutely rendered a unanimous decision 
against the constitutionality of the act, declaring it 
totally void. 

These decisions should have settled the question, but 
the people had become greatly excited; they still clung 
to the idea of the “sovereign will” of the State being 
above that of the Federal Constitution. The decision 
was an important and wise one. It upheld the sacred 
obligations of contracts, and likewise stood by the 
Federal Constitution, which is the supreme law of our 
land. However, the opinion of the Supreme Court 



222 


KENTUCKY 


only increased the fury of the struggle between the 
Relief and Anti-Relief factions, as we shall learn in 
the next chapter. 


QUESTIONS AND SUGGESTIONS. 

Why was Kentucky unprepared to successfully meet and solve her 
financial problems? How was trade carried on during the great scarcity 
of money? How did the first form of banking begin in the State? 
Describe two kinds of money. How does the value of money affect 
prices? How did the Legislature endeavor to give financial relief? 
Why were some of the banks called ‘‘The Forty Thieves”? Describe 
the ‘ ‘ Relief ’ ’ and the ‘ ‘ Anti-Relief ’ ’ parties. What important de¬ 
cision was made at this time by the Court of Appeals? 


CHAPTER XXXIY 

THE OLD COURT AND NEW COURT PARTIES 

The plans of the Relief Party were defeated by the 
decision of the Supreme Court, as told in the preceding 
chapter, hut since most of the people at this time 
favored relief by legislation, they were determined to 
remove the members of the Old Court. The State Con¬ 
stitution provided that members of the Supreme Court 
should hold their offices during good behavior, and 
could be removed only by a two-thirds vote of both 
houses of the legislature. The election of 1824 was a 
campaign of passionate political hatred. The cry, “Re¬ 
lief for the debtor,” appealed to the voter, and under 
the leadership of General Joseph Desha, who was also 
a candidate, for governor, the Relief Party won by a 


COURT PARTIES 


223 


large majority. Desha, the newly elected governor, 
and his “relief” legislature met in December and sum¬ 
moned the members of the Supreme Court before the 
legislative bar. The gallant judges defended their de¬ 
cision with great courage and ability. They were an¬ 
swered by the able Rowan, Bibb, and Barry, repre¬ 
senting the Relief Party. A vote was taken, but the 
two-thirds majority necessary to remove the Supreme 
Court Judges could not be obtained. Defeated in their 
efforts to oust the Judges, the Relief Party took im¬ 
mediate steps to repeal the law under which the Court 
of Appeals had been organized. This was done, and 
a “New Court” was appointed. 

A Double Judiciary.—The New Court consisted of 
William T. Barry, chief justice, and John Trimble, 
James Haggin, and Rezin H. Davidge, associate jus¬ 
tices. The Old Court denied the constitutionality of 
this act, and continued to hear cases brought before it. 
Thus, for a time, Kentucky had the strange experience 
of two Supreme Courts, each claiming authority. The 
opinions of lawyers were divided; most of the abler 
ones, however, recognized the Old Court and brought 
their cases of appeal before it. The New Court like¬ 
wise held its sessions and heard cases brought before 
it. This confusion could not long endure. Again an 
appeal to the people was made. In the election that 
followed (1825) the Relief Party became known as the 
Old Court Party and the Anti-Relief, as the New Court 
party. 1 A large majority which favored the Old Court 

111 Then came a bloodless campaign, which for energy and bitterness 
has never been equalled in the history of a State, if ever among English- 
speaking peoples. Not even the elections immediately preceding the 



224 


KENTUCKY 


Party was elected to the lower house of the legislature, 
but the Senate remained loyal to the New Court. 
Bitter strife continued until the election of 1826, when 
the Old Court Party secured a majority in the Senate, 
also. A majority of both branches of the legislature 
was now favorable to the Old Court Party, and at its 
first session it repealed the act that established the 
New Court. It voted to the members ot the Old Court 
their salaries for the time of their illegal removal and 
declared all acts of the New Court illegal and, there¬ 
fore, void. The “replevin law,” referred to in the 
preceding chapter, was also repealed. At last the 
storm was over and the good sense of a few wise 
leaders had prevailed. It was a foolish and dangerous 
effort on the part of one branch of our government to 
control another, and it was fortunate that it failed 
.at this time. 

United States’ Banks.—The worthless paper money 
that had been forced upon the people was withdrawn 
and branches of the United States Bank were estab¬ 
lished at Louisville and Lexington. The courage, good 
sense and legal ability of the Old Court judges, Boyle, 
Mills, and Owsley, who withstood bitter criticisms in 
order to maintain the honor of contracts and to up¬ 
hold our Federal Constitution, make a bright page in 
the judicial history of our State. 

Unfortunately the wild legislative schemes of this 
time had the support of some of the ablest men of 
the State. William T. Barry, John Rowan, Governor 

Civil War gave anything like the fury to men’s minds as did the strug¬ 
gle between the old and new court parties in the election of 1825.” 
Shaler’s ‘‘Kentucky,” p. 181. 


COURT PARTIES 


225 


Desha, and other men of high character and splendid 
ability were among the leaders of the Relief Party. 
Their conduct can be understood only by remembering 
the excitement of the times, caused by financial dis¬ 
tress, and the extreme ideas of the people regarding 
the sovereignty of the State. During this long struggle 
the State had been dangerously near civil war, the 
whole machinery of law was out of gear and general 
confusion prevailed. Much bitterness still existed and 
party spirit ran high. It was necessary for the Legis¬ 
lature of 1825 to pass an act re-establishing the Old 
Court and repealing the unconstitutional laws, over 
the veto of Governor Desha, though he had sworn to 
defend both the Federal and State Constitutions. The 
struggle proved valuable in awakening the people to 
the importance of honesty in the keeping of contracts, 
and to the dangers that lay in passing hasty laws in * 
times of emergency. 

National Politics.—The people now quietly ac¬ 
cepted the overthrow of the New Court and turned 
their attention from local affairs to the larger field of 
national politics. In 1822, at a joint meeting of both 
houses of the legislature Henry Clay was named as the 
fittest person to succeed President Monroe. Clay’s 
belief in internal improvements at national cost, and a 
protective tariff for the benefit of our infant industries, 
together with his brilliance as an orator, appealed 
to the people. There were no waterways or highways 
connecting the East with the West. Clay believed the 
Government should build highways, open canals, and 
make improvements for the “general welfare” of the 
States. He may be rightly called “The father of in- 


226 


KENTUCKY 


ternal improvements.” Clay became one of four can¬ 
didates for the presidency in 1824, none of whom re¬ 
ceived a majority of the electoral votes, consequently 
the election was thrown into the House of Represen¬ 
tatives. General Jackson had received the largest 
popular vote and would probably have been elected 
had not Clay, his political enemy, used his influence 
against him. At this time Clay was a member of the 
National House of Representatives and was, therefore, 
in a position to control enough votes to elect either 
Adams or Jackson. Next to Clav, Jackson was the 
most popular candidate in Kentucky. Clay was 
strongly urged by Kentuckians to support Jackson, 
but contrary to their wishes he threw his influence to 
John Quincy Adams and thus secured his election. 
This action aroused great anger in Kentucky, which 
• was surpassed only by the indignation created when 
Adams appointed Clay as his Secretary of State. A 
charge of “bargain and corruption” was freely made; 
a charge, the “Great Commoner,” as Clay was popu¬ 
larly called, never completely outlived, though it was 
fully disproved. Jackson, the hero of New Orleans, 
was popular in the West, while the election of Adams 
only increased the old dislike of the Kentucky people 
for New England. The New Court Party bitterly op¬ 
posed the Adams ’ administration and boldly de¬ 
nounced Clay as a deserter. The Old Court Party 
supported Adams, but lost ground in so doing, while 
the popularity of Jackson increased. As the presiden¬ 
tial election of 1828 approached, the Old Court Party 
became merged into the National Republican Party, 
and the opposite factions united under the name of 


COURT PARTIES 


227 


Democratic-Republican Party. In August, 1828, after 
a bitter political fight, Thomas Metcalfe was elected 
governor by the National Democratic Party. He 
defeated his opponent, William T. Barry, by a 
small majority. Metcalfe had risen by energy 
and force of character from a stone mason to 
honor and distinction. He was a member of Con¬ 
gress for many years and had won great popu¬ 
larity in his State. But in the presidential election in 
November Jackson carried the State by a large ma¬ 
jority, and defeated Adams in the United States for 
president. 

In a still more exciting campaign in 1832, the tables 
were completely turned. The Democratic-Republicans 
elected John Breathitt Governor, and gave to Clay, 
the National Republican candidate, a large majority 
for president, though he was defeated by Jackson for 
the presidency in the general election. The courage, 
energy, and eloquence of Clay made him a political 
leader in the State, and the Legislature, in 1831, elected 
him to the United States Senate. The National Demo¬ 
cratic Party under different names continued to hold 
political control of the State for more than thirty 
years. 

Although Clay had failed to secure Federal aid in 
improving rivers and building interstate highways, the 
State and many enterprising people in it were busy 
making these improvements. In 1835, the first railroad 
train in Kentucky ran over the newly built road from 
Lexington to Frankfort. In a few years railroads con¬ 
nected Lexington, Frankfort, Louisville, Covington, 
Paris and Maysville. 


228 


KENTUCKY 


‘‘Hard Times.”— We would think that the trying 
financial experiences of previous years had taught the 
people the danger of unsound currency and wild specu¬ 
lation, but not so. President Jackson had vetoed the 
charter of the United States Bank, and had the Gov¬ 
ernment funds removed to a number of State Banks. 
Hundreds of new banks now sprung up in the states. 
Most of these had but little capital but proceeded to 
issue larger amounts of paper currency than they 
could redeem. Much of this money was paid to the 
United States for public lands. All went well until 
the Government began to require gold and silver in 
payment of all debts due it. The banks were unable 
to meet this requirement, consequently, these “wild¬ 
cat” bank notes became worthless for such payments. 
Naturally the people refused to accept money that the 
Government would not accept. The wild speculation 
that had flourished on the abundance of unsafe paper 
currency was now followed by the “hard times” of 
1837. Even the National Bank deposits that had been 
removed by Jackson to State banks could not be re¬ 
turned to the Government. Many states were bank¬ 
rupt and the Government was without money even 
to pay interest upon its bonds. Jackson had sown to 
the wind and Van Buren, now President, was reaping 
the whirlwind. At the close of Jackson’s administra¬ 
tion a pocketful of money was a fortune, but now a 
pocketful of bank notes scarcely paid for a meal. 
Mercantile houses, factories, and banks failed; busi¬ 
ness was at a standstill, and many people were 
threatened with starvation. A panic of “hard times” 
and general discouragement prevailed. 


COURT PARTIES • 


229 


Relief.— Again something had to be done. Kentucky 
found herself in a similar financial condition to that 
which existed during the days of the Relief and Anti- 
Relief parties. Much talk was again heard of some 
sort of relief measures. But the condition was no fault 
of the State, and was soon remedied by an act of 
Congress which allowed the United States to issue its 
own notes to the amount of ten million dollars. This 
was a good law, for the country was rich in resources, 
and was able to redeem all its notes. It was the be¬ 
ginning of the “sub-treasury system,” which was un¬ 
popular at first but which has proven to he a wise plan 
and one that is still in force. 


QUESTIONS AND SUGGESTIONS. 

Show the relations between the Relief and Anti-Relief Parties and 
the New and Old Court Parties. How did the Constitution stand in 
the way of the Relief Party? Describe the conflict between the New 
and Old Court Parties. How did the struggle finally end? What na¬ 
tional questions came up at this time? Who has been called ‘ ‘ The 
father of internal improvements”? Why? How did Henry Clay 
bring about the election of President Adams? Why did the Kentuckians 
resent it? Explain the cause of the “hard times.” What important 
relief law was passed by Congress and what effect did it have? 





CHAPTER XXXV 
HAPPENINGS OF THIRTY YEARS 

The Purchase; Passing of the Pioneers; Inventors; Edu¬ 
cators; and Artists.— We must now turn our attention 
from the financial turmoil of the times to a review 
of other important matters of these years. Notwith¬ 
standing the political strife and the financial setbacks, 
the rapid development of the State went on. Many of 
Clay’s internal improvement plans, which had the sup¬ 
port of the Kentuckians, had been adopted by Con¬ 
gress. Money was appropriated from time to time for 
the construction of “The Cumberland Road” to reach 
from Cumberland, on the Potomac, to the Ohio. The 
Government encouraged similar enterprises in Ken¬ 
tucky and other states, and many schemes for internal 
improvement were carried out. 

Earthquakes 1811-13. —In November, 1811, the whole 
valley of the Mississippi was shaken by a great earth¬ 
quake. It was the most alarming shock that has ever 
been felt east of the Rocky Mountains, and was most 
distressing in southwestern Kentucky. The earth’s 
surface rose and fell like mighty ocean waves. The 
waters of the Mississippi suddenly rolled up stream 
with a great roar. An area of several hundred square 
miles near the river finally sank below the river bed. 
Into the basins thus made water poured and formed 

Reel-Foot and other lakes of this region. Shocks 

230 


HAPPENINGS OF THIRTY YEARS 231 

were felt at intervals for two years but gradually 
earth movements ceased, leaving a large area of fertile 
lands under water. Fortunately, few people lived in 
this section of Kentucky at the time of the earthquake, 
otherwise great loss of life and property would have 
occurred. 

“The Purchase.”—That portion of Kentucky lying 
between the Tennessee and the Mississippi Rivers and 
which now comprises the counties of McCracken, Mar¬ 
shall, Hickman, Ballard, Fulton, Carlisle, Graves and 
Calloway was still claimed by the Chickasaw Indians 
in 1818. The eagerness of the western people for land 
was causing many to settle in this territory against 
the protests of the Indians. In October, 1818, the 
United States purchased the Chickasaw claims, a por¬ 
tion of which lay in Tennessee. The question of the 
boundary, or dividing line between the two states, at 
once arose. In January, 1818, the Kentucky legisla¬ 
ture appealed to Congress to fix the boundary, that 
each state might know the limit and extent of its 
authority. During the three years’ delay much con¬ 
fusion and disorder arose on account of the unsettled 
county boundaries on this line. However, an agree¬ 
ment was reached by a commission in 1821, which fixed 
the boundary between this portion of Kentucky and 
Tennessee at 36°-30' north latitude. Thus a large 
area of fertile land was added to the State, and her 
western boundary was permanently extended to the 
Mississippi River. 

Kentucky was now a land of peace, plenty and safety. 
The sullen savage came no more, save as an occasional 
visitor on a peaceful errand. The buffalo and other 


232 


KENTUCKY 


wild animals had retreated or had been destroyed and 
much of the noble forests had given place to fruitful 
fields and orchards. Many splendid mansions had 
sprung up in the place of log cabins, and towns and 
villages had been founded in every portion of the 
State. The days of pioneer hazards were over and 
those who had first come to the State were now old, 
many having passed the last frontier into the great 
unknown. 

Clark.—George Rogers Clark, the noble hero who 
had achieved so much for his State and his country, 
now suffered from disease and a mental anguish caused 
by the neglect of the country he had served so well. 
No more would his country call for the services of the 
greatest military genius that figured in the early his¬ 
tory of Kentucky. He died at Locust Grove, near 
Louisville, in 1818. Well had he merited his eternal 
repose in Cave Hill Cemetery, near Louisville, under 
the soil he helped to settle and to defend from its 
foes. 

Boone.—Likewise passed Daniel Boone, the truest of 
all pioneers, from his distant Missouri home. Like 
Clark, he too had been neglected by his country and 
those he had served so bravely in days of peril. Boone 
died in September, 1820. His remains were moved to 
Frankfort in 1845, and a modest monument was erected 
to mark the spot. At last the State recognized the 
great services of the brave old pioneer, but too late 
to give him the comfort he deserved. 

“A dirge to the brave old pioneer, 

His pilgrimage is done; 


HAPPENINGS OF THIRTY YEARS 233 

He hunts no more the grizzly bear, 

About the setting sun. 

Weary at last of chase and life, 

He laid him here to rest, 

Nor recks he now what sport or strife 
Would tempt him further west.” 1 


Kenton.—In April, 1836, passed Simon Kenton, by 
a strange fate, in sight of the spot in Ohio where the 
Indians, many years before, had prepared to burn him 
at the stake. “The crafty offsprings of peace, who 
had slept in the lap of eastern ease and security, while 
this noble pioneer was enduring the hardships of the 
wilderness . . . crept in when the fight, and toil, and 
danger were past, and by dishonorable trick . . . 
and cunning procedure, wrested the possessions 
bought at such a terrible price from the gallant un¬ 
lettered, simple-hearted man . . . ” 2 And thus it 
happened in many cases, and thus it often occurs, that 
some sow that others may reap. The brave, big- 
hearted old pioneer was not schooled in the ways of 
the unscrupulous who by the twists and turns of law 
stole from him his land titles. The typical pioneer 
often lost his land through the simple trust he placed 
in his fellow men, and by failure to legally clear his 
own land titles. This caused many to move on to other 
wildernesses in search of unclaimed lands. 

Isaac Shelby.—In the death of Isaac Shelby in 1826, 
Kentucky lost a man of many useful and noble quali- . 

1 O ’Hara, 1 ‘ The Old Pioneer . 1 ’ The student should read the entire 
poem. 

2 Collins, “History of Kentucky ,” Vol. II, p. 451. 


234 


KENTUCKY 


ties. He was born in Maryland, of Welsh parentage, 
and spent his early years on the wild borders of his 
native State and of Virginia. He was at once a pio¬ 
neer, a Revolutionary soldier, an Indian fighter, and 
a Statesman. He took an important part in the battle 
of the Great Kanawha, planned the battle of King’s 
Mountain, and successfully led part of the attack. He 
was a member of the convention that framed our first 
state constitution and became Kentucky’s first gover¬ 
nor. After retiring from public life in 1816, he was 
selected by President Monroe as Secretary of War, 
but, on account of his age and his desire for private 
life, he declined to accept the appointment. His last 
public act was as a commissioner to treat with the 
Chickasaw Indians for the purchase of the lands in the 
western part of our State, now known as The Purchase. 
“Old King’s Mountain,” as he was familiarly called, 
gave a long life of service to the State of his adoption 
and a loving loyalty to our Great Country. 

Richard H. Menefee.—Menefee, one of the most bril¬ 
liant men of this period, was born in Bath County in 
1810. He had the fiery eloquence of Patrick Henry 
but surpassed him in logic and learning. He was sent 
to Congress in 1837 and at once attracted the admira¬ 
tion and attention of its ablest members. Newspapers 
throughout the land teemed with his praise, but in 
the midst of his brilliant career his frail body suc¬ 
cumbed to disease, and the bright star of this wonder¬ 
ful man’s life went out when he was only thirty-one 
years of age. 

Inventors.—Orators, statesmen, and warriors make 
the history of a country brilliant and heroic, but the 



HAPPENINGS OF THIRTY YEARS 235 


men who work in the quiet places of earth, writing its 
literature, and making discoveries in science and art, 
probably render mankind the greater service. For 
many years following 1826, Thomas H. Barlow, a na¬ 
tive of Nicholas County, was quietly at work in his 
shops at Lexington turning out many inventions. He 
successively built a steam locomotive, invented the 
rifled cannon, and an automatic nail and tack machine. 
He also invented the Planetarium, an instrument to 
show the movements of the earth and other planets 
about the sun. The first one was completed and sold 
to Girard College, Philadelphia, in 1849. 

William Kelley located at Eddyville in 1846 to en¬ 
gage in the manufacture of iron. By his knowledge 
of chemistry and by careful experiments he discov¬ 
ered the “Bessemer Process” of converting the crude 
iron ore into steel by forcing blasts of air through the 
molten material. An English manufacturer, Henry 
Bessemer, first gave to the public the new process and 
attempted to secure a patent on it in America, but the 
United States Patent Office properly awarded it to 
Kelley. From the energy and the fertile mind of 
Kelley, working in the little town of Eddyville many 
years ago, has come the complete revolution of the 
steel industry of the world. 

Education and Art.—This era is famous in the history 
of our State not only for its able lawyers and states¬ 
men but for the number of noted educators. Under 
the presidency of the accomplished Dr. Horace Holly, 
Transylvania University was recognized as one of the 
leading institutions of learning in America. Rafi- 
nesque, one of the greatest scientists of any time, oc- 



236 


KENTUCKY 


cupied the chair of Natural Sciences and Modern 
Languages. Many young men journeyed over the 
mountains from the East to attend the University and 
to mingle in the literary society of Lexington, which 
soon was called the “Athens of the West.” During 
the early years of this century some of the greatest 

physicians in the world 
lived in Kentucky. Dr. 
Ephraim McDowell, son of 
the noted judge, Samuel 
McDowell, already men¬ 
tioned, became a pioneer in 
the field of surgery. He 
performed operations yet 
unknown to the world and 
his discoveries have saved 
the lives of thousands of 
women. “Wherever sur¬ 
gery is known, his name is 
known.” In 1817, Tran¬ 
sylvania University Medi¬ 
cal College had such men as Doctors Daniel Drake, 
Benjamin Dudley and Joseph Buchanan, who were 
leaders in medicine and surgery. A remarkable num¬ 
ber of the graduates of Transylvania became noted in 
the history of our country. 

During these years, likewise, Matthew H. Jouett, 
a native of Mercer County, was painting many of 
the celebrated portraits now prized as high works of 
art. Joel T. Hart, of Clark County, became one of the 
most celebrated sculptors in his day. He began his 
career as a stone-mason and in spite of many obstacles, 



Dr. Ephraim McDowell 




MEXICAN WAR 237 

he achieved fame. He spent twelve years working on 
his masterpiece, which he named “Woman Trium¬ 
phant.” Up to the time of his death he was still 
working to perfect it. 


QUESTIONS AND SUGGESTIONS. 

What was done by Congress for internal improvements? Describe 
the earthquake of 1811. What part of the State is known as the 
“Purchase”? How was it obtained? Give account of the death of 
some of the noted pioneers. Give a sketch of Isaac Shelby. Mention 
some of the inventors and tell what they did. Give an account of some 
leaders in education and art. 


CHAPTER XXXVI 

STATE AFFAIRS AND THE MEXICAN WAR 

Three Whig Governors.—At this time the National 
Republican Party, now called Whigs, was in power. 
Henry Clay, who was still the idol of the Kentuckians, 
was its ambitious leader, and later its candidate for 
President. In 1836, the Whigs elected Judge James 
Clark Governor. It will be recalled that it was Judge 
Clark who had given his decision against the unjust 
and unconstitutional replevin laws. Again, in 1840, the 
Whigs elected for Governor Robert P. Letcher, who 
had been a member of Congress from Kentucky for 
ten years. During the exciting contest of 1844, Judge 
William Owsley, a distinguished member of the Old 
Court Party, became the nominee of the Whigs. The 
Democratic nominee was Major William 0. Butler, 


238 


KENTUCKY 


an able man and a brave soldier, who had fought at 
the Raisin and at New Orleans. Notwithstanding the 
merited popularity of Major Butler, Judge Owsley was 
elected. 

In 1842 another attempt was made to revive “relief 
measures/ ’ but the people had learned that laws do 
not cure financial ills. Fortunately, Kentucky had at 
this time Thomas Marshall, Richard Menefee, Henry 
Clay, and other able leaders who gave wise counsel 
in the conduct of the political and financial affairs of 
the State. 

The Shadow of Slavery. —Slavery was now both a 
state and a national issue that cast its darkening 
shadow over the entire country. It had been intro¬ 
duced into Kentucky while the State was yet a part 
of Virginia; and, while it was permitted and protected 
by law, there were many who opposed it. It was but 
natural for the freedom-loving Kentuckians to look 
with suspicion upon the enslavement of human beings. 
Indeed, there were many instances where the master 
freed his slaves and even provided for their welfare 
afterwards. About this time, Cassius M. Clay, son of 
General Green Clay, came under the influence of Wil¬ 
liam Lloyd Garrison, the great abolitionist. He 
caught the burning words and spirit of Garrison and 
resolved to “give slavery a death struggle.” He says, 
“I felt all the horrors of slavery; but my parents 
were slaveholders; all my kindred in Kentucky were 
slaveholders; and I regarded it as I did other evils 
of humanity, as the fixed law of nature or God. ’’ Such 
was the attitude of many Kentucky slaveholders at 
this time. Clay, who became known as the “Lion of 


MEXICAN WAR 


239 


Whitehall,” stirred up the slaveholders by vaunting 
his extreme abolition theories in harsh and intolerant 
language. At this time (1845) he was publishing The 
True American in Lexington. It was a violent abo¬ 
lition paper and was stirring up strife on the slavery 
question. While Clay was confined to a sick bed a 
committee of citizens waited on him and ordered him 
to suspend the publication. Upon receiving a defiant 
refusal to do so, the committee packed up his printing 
outfit and shipped it to Cincinnati. The slave ques¬ 
tion became the source of much ill feeling in the issues 
that led to the Mexican War. 

Settlement of Texas.— Let us go hack a few years and 
remind the reader that the boundary of the Louisiana 
Territory was vague, and that there were many states¬ 
men who still claimed that Texas was a part of 
Louisiana. In 1819, in spite of many protests the 
United States abandoned its claim to Texas. About 
1820, many land-hungry settlers from the South and 
West began to knock noisily at the door of the Texas 
border. At first Mexico welcomed them and permitted 
many colonies to be established on Texas soil. After 
a time, however, she became alarmed at the rapid 
.growth of these colonies and attempted to exercise an 
unlawful and tyrannical rule over them. 

Texas Revolution.— In 1835, the Texans revolted 
against Mexico and declared their independence. 
News of their struggle for self-government aroused 
great sympathy in Kentucky and many volunteers 
from the State rushed to their aid. In 1836, under 
the command of General Sam Houston, the Texans 
defeated the Mexicans at San Jacinto, and captured 


240 


KENTUCKY 


their general, Santa Anna. Two months later Santa 
Anna and his generals agreed to the independence of 
Texas and were released. 

Texas Seeks Admission Into the Union.—Having 

achieved their independence, the loyal Texans now 
asked to be admitted as a state into the Union. This 
request at once brought about a heated discussion of 
the question of slavery. Leaders in the Northern 
States hotly opposed the admission of Texas. They 
believed this vast territory would be divided into a 
number of slave states and thereby increase their rep¬ 
resentative power in Congress. The Southern States 
generally advocated the admission of Texas to offset 
the increasing number of free states in the North. 
The question at once became a sectional one and in¬ 
creased the bitterness between the North and South. 
Calhoun and other southern leaders favored the im¬ 
mediate admission of Texas into the Union, while 
Webster, Adams and other Northern leaders opposed 
it. For ten years a heated debate went on, while the 
Northern and Southern sections of our great country 
grew wider apart and the ‘‘Lone Star State” waited. 

Kentucky’s Attitude. —The sentiment in Kentucky was 
divided. Many favored slavery; probably a still 
greater number believed in the right of any state to 
decide the question for itself. Henry Clay and many 
other Kentucky leaders opposed slavery, but objected 
to the admission of Texas on the ground that it would 
result in a war with Mexico. They were right. Mexico 
hated and feared the United States and had consented 
to the independence of Texas, on condition that it 
should not become a part of the United States. The 


MEXICAN WAR 


241 


admission of Texas into the Union became an issue in 
every political campaign and was constantly before 
Congress. 

Texas Enters the Union.— In 1845 Congress passed the 
hill for the annexation of Texas, and President Tyler 
signed it and sent it to that State for ratification. A 
dispute at once arose between Texas and Mexico over 
the boundary line. Texas claimed the Rio Grande and 
Mexico the Rio Nueces as the boundary line between 
them. The territory lying between these rivers at once 
became an object of contention between the two coun¬ 
tries. James K. Polk, who was now President, sent 
General Zachary Taylor with an army to occupy the 
disputed territory. The Mexicans resented this act 
and attacked the Americans—thus the expected war 
began. 

It is not the purpose of a history of our State to 
give a full account of this war, but to notice only 
that phase of it in which the Kentuckians had a part. 
The opposition to war that had existed in Kentucky 
until this time quickly gave way. In May, 1846, the 
President called for twenty-four hundred volunteers 
from Kentucky, and immediately more than ten 
thousand eagerly offered their services. Of the one 
hundred and five companies organized, only thirty 
could be accepted; the rest were disbanded. In a short 
time Kentucky offered about one-fourth as many men 
as had been called for in the entire twenty-nine States. 

Governor Owsley Calls for Volunteers.— As soon as war 
began, Governor Owsley, without waiting for the call 
of the United States for troops, issued a proclamation 
calling for men of military age “to form themselves 


242 


KENTUCKY 


into volunteer companies” and report to him. In a 
few weeks the Louisville Legion under Colonel Ormsby 
started for the front. The Second Regiment of in¬ 
fantry under Colonel William R. McKee, and 
the First Regiment of cavalry under Colonel 
Humphrey Marshall, reported for immediate service. 
These, and a company under Captain John Williams, 
were accepted by the War Department. William 
Preston, who afterwards distinguished himself as 
a statesman and general, raised by subscription 
in Louisville, $50,000.00 and placed it to the credit of 
Governor Owsley, to be used, if necessary, to pay the 
expenses of the Kentucky troops to the seat of war. 

The eagerness with which the Kentuckians enlisted 
in this war showed their combative spirit as well as the 
sympathy they felt for the Texans who were now 
battling against a foreign foe. The people had enjoyed 
a long period of peace, and the State Militia had been 
poorly drilled. The organizing, drilling, and train¬ 
ing for war prevented most of the volunteers from 
reaching the front until after the capture of Monterey. 
Colonel Marshall’s Cavalry was transported by boat 
to Memphis. From thence they began a dreary over¬ 
land march through the vast, silent wilderness of Ar¬ 
kansas to Port Lavaca on the coast of Texas. True to 
their native tastes, they indulged their passion for 
hunting on the way. 

Capture of Monterey.— The Louisville Legion arrived 
just before the capture of Monterey, and while they 
were not engaged in any of the assaults on the for¬ 
tress, they had a harder duty to perform. They were 
posted to guard a battery of cannon from Mexican 


MEXICAN WAR 


243 


cavalry attacks. Thus the Kentuckians were required 
to stand a hot artillery fire without being able to re¬ 
turn it. The official report of the battle says, they 
4 4 displayed obedience, patience, discipline and cour¬ 
age/ ’ In this conflict, General William 0. Butler was 
severely wounded and Major Philip N. Barbour was 
killed. 

Following the capture of 
Monterey Captain Cassius 
M. Clay, who had just 
arrived with the First Ken¬ 
tucky Cavalry, was invited 
by General Taylor to dine 
with him. Writing of this 
in his memoirs, Clay says: 

4 4 At the hour named I en¬ 
tered his tent, expecting to 
find, at least, plenty of good 
things, if not great cere¬ 
mony. . . . But I sat down 
with the plainly dressed 
hero before his camp-chest, 
and partook of salt pork, 
hard tack, and camp coffee/’ Shortly after this, Clay, 
. at the head of a scouting party, was captured by the 
Mexicans. Before many days the captives met Santa 
Anna’s army on the plains. “When we came to Santa 
Anna,” says Captain Clay, “who was riding with his 
suite in a carriage drawn by six horses, with postil¬ 
lions, and outriders, in great style, I could but think 
of Taylor and his tin cups.” As subsequent events 
will show, General Taylor, who was affectionately 





244 


KENTUCKY 


called “Old Rough and Ready,” and his little band of 
rugged volunteers, were more than a match for the 
pomp and parade of Santa Anna and his large army 
of trained veterans. 

Battle of Buena Vista.— General Taylor had been re¬ 
quired to send a large part of his force to General 

Winfield Scott, who was 
now preparing to march 
against Mexico City from 
Vera Cruz. Including the 
Kentucky regiments under 
Colonels Marshall and Mc¬ 
Kee, Taylor’s entire army 
amounted to only about five 
thousand regulars and vol¬ 
unteers. He now learned 
that General Santa Anna 
was preparing to attack 
him with an army of about 
twenty thousand men. Re¬ 
jecting the advice of the 
War Department to fortify and hold Monterey, Gen¬ 
eral Taylor determined to meet Santa Anna in a more 
favorable position, and selected Buena Vista for that 
purpose. The genius of “Old Rough and Ready” had 
chosen this strong position wisely and well. Here on 
the evening of February 22, the host of Mexicans 
attacked the American army, numbering only about 
one-fourth as many. Skirmishing continued until dark. 
At dawn of the next day the battle storm broke, and 
raged with doubtful results for ten hours. But the 
heroic little band of Americans that night slept upon 



Cassius M. Clay 





MEXICAN WAR 1 245 

the field of victory, while the great army of Santa 
Anna, shattered and disheartened, retreated to San 
Luis Potosi. Thus ended one of the most desperate 
battles ever fought upon the American continent. 
About one-fifth of the troops were from our State, and 
of the 723 killed or wounded, 162 were Kentuckians. 
Among the slain were the gallant Colonel William R. 
McKee and Lieutenant Colonel Henry Clay, son of the 
great statesman. The Battle of Buena Vista ended the 
war in that quarter, and General Scott’s victories and 
the capture of Mexico City soon afterward, forced the 
Mexicans to sue for peace. The company from Clark 
County under Captain John S. Williams, which was 
with General Scott, had a distinguished part in the 
assault on Cerro Gordo April 18, 1847*. 

Many young officers who took part in the Mexican 
War led the armies of the North and the armies of 
the South in the great Civil Conflict that soon fol¬ 
lowed. With General Taylor were W. T. Sherman, 
Braxton Bragg, Jefferson Davis, and John H. Morgan; 
with General Scott were R. E. Lee, U. S. Grant, 
Thomas J. Jackson and George B. McClellan. It is 
hard to believe that these brave officers who fought side 
by side in a common cause should face each other in 
the bloody Civil War that was soon to follow. 


QUESTIONS AND SUGGESTIONS. 

What political party was in power in Kentucky at this time? 
Mention some of its leaders. What opinions prevailed in Kentucky 
concerning slavery? Who became a leading abolitionist? Why did 
the question of slavery enter into the Texas Revolution and the admis- 


246 


KENTUCKY 


sion of the State into the Union? What was the attitude of the Ken¬ 
tuckians to the Mexican War? Give a sketch of General Zachary 
Taylor. Describe the battles of Monterey and Buena Vista. 


CHAPTER XXXYII 

PERIOD OF UNREST 

At the close of the Mexican War a desire was ex¬ 
pressed in many quarters that ‘ ‘ The banner now float¬ 
ing from the City of Mexico shall never be withdrawn. ’’ 
James Buchanan, Polk’s Secretary of State, declared, 
“We must fulfill that destiny which Providence may 
have in store for both countries.” This was at once 
understood to mean that the United States should an¬ 
nex the entire territory of Mexico. In a speech de¬ 
livered at Lexington on November 13, 1847, Henry 
Clay gave utterance to such an eloquent argument 
against the annexation of Mexico as to turn the tide of 
sentiment in Kentucky and the Union against it. On 
February 2, 1848, a treaty was signed at Guadaloupe 
Hidalgo by which the boundary between Mexico and 
the United States was fixed at the Rio Grande, and by 
which Mexico gave up her claims to California, Ari¬ 
zona, and New Mexico. In return, the United States 
agreed to pay Mexico $15,000,000.00, and to assume 
the payment of all claims of American citizens against 
her. 

The Honored Dead.— Perhaps no other people honor 
their heroes and heroic dead so much as the Ken- 


247 


PERIOD OF UNREST 

tuckians. In 1845, Kentucky set aside a beautiful plot 
of ground at Frankfort as a last resting place for her 
distinguished dead. Many “sons of her consecrated 
ground” still lay “where 
stranger steps and tongue 
resound.” Those who had 
fallen at Buena Vista were 
now (July 20, 1847) 

brought to Frankfort and 
buried with impressive cer¬ 
emonies. At the unveiling 
of a monument soon after¬ 
wards erected to their 
memory, Theodore O’Hara 
read his immortal elegy. 

O’Hara, himself, had 
served in the Mexican 
War, and as he read these 
solemn lines he must have felt the thrill of his own 
experience and the sad rhythm of his own verse: 

‘ ‘ The muffled drum’s sad roll has beat 
The soldier’s last tattoo; 

No more on life’s parade shall meet 
The brave and daring few. 

On fame’s eternal camping ground 
Their silent tents are spread, 

And Glory guards, with solemn round, 

The Bivouac of the dead. 

• • • • • • • 

“The neighing steed, the flashing blade, 

The trumpet’s stirring blast, 

The charge, the dreadful cannonade, 

The din and shout are past; 



Colonel Theodore O’Hara 








248 


KENTUCKY 


No war’s wild note, nor glory’s peal, 

Shall thrill with fierce delight 
Those breasts that never more shall feel 
The rapture of the fight. ’ ’ 1 

Election of 1848.—In 1848 the Whig Party, which was 
still in power in Kentucky, elected John J. Critten¬ 
den Governor. At the time, Crittenden was a mem¬ 
ber of the United States Senate, but resigned, and 
Governor Owsley appointed Thomas Metcalfe to fill 
out his unexpired term. The appointment was offered 
to Henry Clay who refused it, probably with the hope 
of being made the Whig candidate for President. But 
the eyes of the Whigs had turned to the conquering 
hero of Buena Vista as the “rising star” for the Presi¬ 
dency. General Taylor had spent his life in camp, and 
had taken but little interest in political affairs. He 
was an ardent admirer of Clay and said he “was ready 
to stand aside,” and expressed a sincere desire that 
the Whigs would make Clay the choice of the party. 
Taylor had come to Kentucky when a child and had 
that rugged, heroic spirit that Kentuckians admired. 
Probably the masses preferred Clay, but the campaign 
orators wanted ‘ 4 Old Rough and Ready, who never 
surrenders,” and who had been forty years a Ken¬ 
tuckian. With the “Hero of Buena Vista” for their 
candidate the Whigs believed they could win; and so 

1 The student should read this entire poem. O ’Hara was born in 
Danville In 1820. He served in the Mexican War under General Frank¬ 
lin Pierce, afterwards President of the United States. He was an 
officer in the Southern army and received General Albert Sidney John¬ 
ston in his arms when he fell at Shiloh. He died June 7, 1867, in 
Alabama, the State of his adoption. His remains rest in Frankfort 
Cemetery, where, twenty years before, he had read his famous elegy. 


PERIOD OF UNREST 


249 


they did. Buena Vista probably made Taylor Presi¬ 
dent and again defeated the life ambitions of Henry 
Clay. 

Last Days of Henry Clay.—After bis defeat for the 
Whig nomination for Presidency in 1848, Clay retired 
from public life. In February 1849, the Kentucky 
legislature declared “That we, the Representatives 
of the people of Kentucky, are opposed to abolition or 
emancipation of slavery in any form or shape what¬ 
ever/’ But the confidence of this body in Clay, who 
was then uttering bold arguments against slavery, is 
shown by his election as Senator from Kentucky by 
the General Assembly. Notwithstanding his age, his 
declining health, and his desire for the repose of pri¬ 
vate life, he accepted the election as a duty to his 
country. He had been bearing her burdens for forty 
years, hut his mind was still alert and his heart was 
loyal, so he refused to lay his burdens down until the 
end of life’s journey. Though defeated for President, 
though burdened by the fears of a coming conflict, he 
returned to the Senate as the faithful servant of his 
State, like one “endeavoring to throw oil upon the 
troubled waters.” 

The Omnibus Bill.—In 1850, Clay introduced into the 
Senate a plan “for the peace, concord, and harmony of 
these States, to settle ... all existing questions . . . 
between them, arising out of the institution of 
slavery.” 1 Upon the compromise plans introduced, 
the old “Triumvirate,” Webster, Calhoun and Clay, 
joined in one of the mightiest debates ever heard in a 

^IcElroy, “Kentucky in the Nation’s History,” p. 462. 


250 


KENTUCKY 


parliament of men. During these debates on the 
“Omnibus Bill,” as Clay’s plans were now called, he 
once exclaimed with great patriotic fervor, “Sir, I 
have heard something said about allegiance to the 
South. I know no South, no North, no East, no West, 
to which I owe allegiance.” Clay was now no longer 
the Senator from Kentucky, but Senator Clay of 
America. But all the compromises for which he so 
nobly fought, and all his eloquent pleas for peace and 
harmony among the States, failed to avert disunion. 
The Omnibus Bill passed. It was a great triumph for 
the last days of the “Great Pacificator.” A kind 
Providence destined that he should not witness the 
bloody strife that was soon to follow. His wish to die 
at the National Capitol, “with his harness on,” was 
fulfilled June 29, 1852. So passed Henry Clay of 
America, the patriot and statesman who declared, 
when most ambitious for the office, “I had rather be 
right than be President.” 1 

A Tragic Episode.—The Kentucky spirit of freedom 
and independence is shown by an incident that occurred 
at this time. In August 1851, believing the patriots of 
Cuba were struggling for their independence, Colonel 
William L. Crittenden led an armed band of Ken¬ 
tuckians to their aid. Crittenden and his men were 
surprised, overpowered and captured. Most of the 
Americans were immediately shot. When asked to 
kneel with his back to the firing squad, Colonel Crit¬ 
tenden folded his arms across his breast and replied: 


1 The life of Henry Clay should be an inspiration to every patriot. 
Bead it. 


PERIOD OF UNREST 


251 


“A Kentuckian kneels only to his God, and always 
faces the enemy.’’ 1 

“Bloody Monday.” —In 1850, Governor Crittenden 
became Attorney General in Filmore’s cabinet and 
Lieutenant Governor John L. Helm was inaugurated to 
fill out his unexpired term. In 1851, Lazarus W. 
Powell was elected Governor on the Democratic ticket, 
though the Whigs secured the majority of the other 
state offices. Cassius M. Clay headed the Emancipa¬ 
tion ticket but received only a small vote. The Whig 
Party was falling to pieces. The anti-slavery element 
was going over to the Republican Party and the slav¬ 
ery advocates to the Democratic Party. During this 
time of extreme political feeling and the breaking up of 
the old Whig Party it was natural that new parties 
should arise. In the midst of it all came the American 
or No-Nothing party that cherished an unfounded and 
intolerant dislike for foreigners and Catholics. Many 
Whigs joined the Know-Nothing party, and in 1855, 
elected Charles S. Morehead Governor. On election 
day, since known as “Bloody Monday,” a groundless 
and violent hatred led the rough element to a mad at¬ 
tack on some of the Catholics in Louisville. Houses 
were burned and twenty-two persons were killed and 
many wounded. Such madness brought its own pun¬ 
ishment; the Know-Nothing party fell into dishonor, 
and soon disappeared. 

Election of 1856.— In the Presidential election of 1856, 

1 ‘ 1 Take, take the life that heaven gave, 

And let my heart ’s blood stain thy sod, 

But know ye not, Kentucky’s brave 
Will kneel to none but God.”—M rs. Mary Wilson Betts. 


252 


KENTUCKY 


the Democratic Party elected John C. Breckinridge of 
Kentucky Vice-President and James Buchanan Presi¬ 
dent. Breckinridge belonged to one of the noblest and 
ablest families of the State, and was well fitted for 
the high office to which he was elected. He was not 

only a Democrat but his 
sympathies were ardently 
Southern. In 1859 the 
Democrats elected Beriah 
Magoffin Governor and ob¬ 
tained a majority in both 
Houses of the Legislature. 

The Conservative Union 
Party.— However, there was 
a group of pure, able, and 
patriotic men who had be¬ 
longed to the Whig Party, 
who now called themselves 
the Conservative Union 
Party. This group in¬ 
cluded men like Joseph R. 
Underwood, W. B. Kin- 
kead, Joshua Bell, James 
Guthrie, George D. Pren¬ 
tice, and John J. Crittenden. These and other distin¬ 
guished Kentuckians saw our country falling to pieces 
and strove with manly courage to avert war and save 
the Union. The Conservative Union Party placed 
loyalty to the Union above party allegiance and sought 
a peaceable settlement of all differences between the 
North and South within the Union and not outside of 
it. 



John C. Breckinridge 




PERIOD OF UNREST 


253 


Revising the Constitution. —In the midst of the intense 
feelings in 1849 a vote was taken in the State for call¬ 
ing a convention to revise the State Constitution. The 
question of the emancipation of slaves entered into 
the bitter campaign that followed. The results showed 
almost a solid delegation for the pro-slavery party. 
The convention met, but made only a few slight 
changes in the provisions affecting slavery. The 
State was heavily in debt, and the power of the Legis¬ 
lature to raise money on the credit of the State was 
abolished. The power of the Governor to appoint the 
judges, attorneys, magistrates, and clerks of the 
State courts was now made elective by the people. 
Further provisions were made by which no conven¬ 
tion could be called to revise the Constitution except 
by a two-thirds vote of the people. The Constitution 
thus revised, at a time of intense excitement, outlived, 
by many years, the institution of slavery which it pro¬ 
tected. 

Kentucky’s Loyalty. —Notwithstanding the strong pro¬ 
slavery feeling in the State the people were loyal to 
the Union and bitterly opposed secession. They ad¬ 
hered to the doctrine of States’ rights, and their sym¬ 
pathies were with the South, but they were not un¬ 
mindful of their duty to the Union. An act of the 
Legislature in 1850, strikingly illustrates the intense 
loyalty of that time. On a block of Kentucky marble, 
to be used in the Washington Monument at Washing¬ 
ton City, was ordered to be engraved: “Under the 
auspices of heaven and the precepts of Washington, 
Kentucky will be the last to give up the Union. ” True 
to the pledge engraven upon stone and cherished in 



254 


KENTUCKY 


the hearts of her people, Kentucky remained through 
the coming conflict under the national banner. 
Though rent asunder by the bloody strife, though her 

sons fought alike under the 
stars and stripes and under 
the stars and bars the old 
Commonwealth pled for 
peace, but stayed in the 
Union. 

From 1619, when the 
little Dutch trading vessel 
sold twenty slaves to the 
Jamestown colony, till 
now, was a far cry. In 
spite of all efforts at a set¬ 
tlement of the vexing 
question, it refused to be 
settled. In spite of the 
Great Pacificator, now 
dead; and, in spite of the able gray-haired Crittenden, 
now pleading in Congress for a peaceable settlement 
of a question, centuries old, the war cloud continued 
to gather. 



QUESTIONS AND SUGGESTIONS. 

What did the United States gain by the Mexican War? How did 
Kentucky honor her dead soldiers who fell in battle? What was 
the result of the election of 1848? Give an account of the last days of 
Henry Clay. Why was Clay called the ‘ ‘ Great Pacificator ’ ’ ? What 
brought about ‘ ‘ Bloody Monday ’ ’ ? Give the results of the election 
of 1856. What changes were made in the Constitution by the con¬ 
vention of 1849? What incident occurred at this time that showed 
the loyalty of Kentucky to the Union? 







CHAPTER XXXVIII 

KENTUCKY’S LOYALTY TO THE UNION 

The ownership of slaves as private property is an 
age-old custom. It has existed in most civilized coun¬ 
tries, but always contrary to the wish of many of the 
people. Slavery had been planted on American soil 
shortly after its settlement and had spread to every 
part of the country. In 1860, there were about three 
and a half million slaves in the United States, repre¬ 
senting a property value of about one and a half bil¬ 
lion dollars. The Declaration of Independence af¬ 
firms that all men by nature are equal and have cer¬ 
tain rights, and that among these are life, liberty, 
and the pursuit of happiness. In the light of these 
principles it seems strange that slavery should have 
existed in our free government, and that America 
should have been among the last of civilized nations 
to give it up. It should be remembered, however, that 
the right to own property was also guaranteed to 
every citizen, and that slaves were considered 
property. 

Slavery in the South.— For two centuries slavery had 
prevailed, though there had been many who opposed 
it. Slave labor was found more profitable in the pro¬ 
duction of rice, sugar, and cotton in the South than 
in the industries of the North, so it came about that 

most of the slaves were gradually sold to Southern 

255 


256 .KENTUCKY 

planters. The drift of the slaves from the North to 
the South was the chief cause that brought about the 
division of our country into free and slave states. 
Aside from the question of right and wrong, it was 
an industrial question that grew out of natural con¬ 
ditions. Believing the slaves to be lawful property, 
and that the ownership of them was necessary to the 
development of the South, the slaveholder refused to 
give up his right to own them. 

States’ Rights.— Another question as old as the Con¬ 
stitution was whether a state had the right to with¬ 
draw from the Union and set up independent state¬ 
hood. It was the old States’ Rights question, fought 
over by the Federalists and Anti-Federalists seventy 
years before, and had since been brought up many 
times by Northern and Southern States alike. The 
reader must keep before him these questions of 
Slavery and States’ Rights to properly understand 
the causes of the impending conflict. To settle them 
happily required calm thought, sober temper, and 
a deep patriotic purpose. There were many fanatics 
in the North and many fanatics in the South who had 
none of these qualities. The fire-eaters of the North 
made false charges against the South, and the people 
of the North believed them; the fire-eaters of the 
South made false charges against the people of the 
North, and the people of the South believed them. 
This misunderstanding of one section by another so 
widened the gulf between them as to make peace im¬ 
possible. 

The Breach Widens. —The fate of Kentucky and every 
State in the Union, and the destiny of the Union itself, 


LOYALTY TO THE UNION 


257 


were trembling in the balance. In many cases reason 
gave place to passion and all hope of compromising 
the troubles vanished. Scenes of violence took place 
in the halls of Congress and all political issues van¬ 
ished, except those of slavery and secession. Families 
became divided, schools disorganized, and even 
churches Avere split on the questions. 

Attitude of Kentucky. —Clay, Crittenden, and other 
great pacificators had cried “Peace! Peace!” while 
our great country drifted toward war. In Kentucky 
the lines were sharply drawn, but the mantle of the 
Great Pacificator had fallen upon Crittenden and the 
people. Though a slave State, having kinship and 
sympathies with the South, Kentucky refused to leave 
the Union. She had struggled long to enter the Union, 
she had fought in three wars for the Union, and had 
been the first State west of the Alleghenies to enter 
the Union. But recently she had declared she would 
be the last to give up the Union, and though her ef¬ 
forts to remain in it, and her declarations of neutrality 
called forth unjust criticisms from the North and the 
South, she stood heroically by her pledges and prin¬ 
ciples. From the beginning of the quarrel, and 
through the years of bitter strife, her plea for peace 
was an unheeded voice. History does not have a 
parallel in the wise and righteous course she endeav¬ 
ored to pursue. Let the flippant critic from afar find 
fault with her hesitation, her indecision, and her mis¬ 
takes ; but let him remember, too, that the slave State 
of Kentucky stood alone for the Union among her 
sister states of the South. 

By a strange sort of fate, the leader of the North 


258 


KENTUCKY 


and the leader of the South were born on Kentucky 
soil that was now endeavoring to remain neutral. 




Abraham Lincoln Jefferson Davis 

Abraham Lincoln was born in a log cabin in Larue County, Kentucky, 
February 12, 1809. His parents were poor, and “Abe,’’ as he w r as 
called, attended school but a short time. While he was yet a boy his 
parents moved to Indiana and shortly afterwards to Illinois. The boy 
helped to build a cabin, clear the ground and split rails to fence it. He 
was six feet four inches in height, angular, awkward, and a giant in 
strength. He was fond of reading the best books and probably failed 
as a merchant because he gave more time to his books than to his busi¬ 
ness. He was kind, generous, and full of droll anecdotes. Lincoln 
opposed slavery, became a great admirer of Henry Clay, and himself a 
great political leader. He was elected President of the United States 
in 1860. He stands alone in originality, greatness, and goodness among 
the world’s great men. 

Jefferson Davis was born in Todd County, Kentucky, June 3, 1808, 
and in his infancy his father moved southward to Mississippi and be¬ 
came a thrifty cotton planter. After attending a private school for a 
time, he was sent to Transylvania University, Lexington, Kentucky, for 
several years, and finally to West Point Military Academy, from which 







LOYALTY TO THE UNION 259 

«■ 

he graduated. Davis was a man of military tastes, and took a distin¬ 
guished part in the Mexican War. He married the daughter of Zachary 
Taylor. He was a great student of history and government, and an 
ardent follower of Calhoun. He became the leader of southern politi¬ 
cal ideals, and was a member of the United States Senate when the Civil 
War began. In February, 1861, he became President of the Southern 
Confederacy. He was a man of high moral and religious principles, 
sincere and honest in his belief in slavery and the cause of the South. 
He deplored war between the States, but when it came he resigned his 
seat in the Senate and became leader of the Confederacy. 

The Lincoln and Davis families belonged to the rest¬ 
less settler-folk. About 1812, two tides of emi¬ 
grants were moving from Kentucky; one North, and 
the other South. The Lincolns followed the northern 
thrust, and finally settled in Illinois, where they came 
under the influence of the ideals of a free non-slave¬ 
holding people. The Davises went South and came 
under the influence of the ideals and customs of the 
slaveholding cotton planters. Abraham Lincoln and 
Jefferson Davis each fell under the social, economic, 
and political influence of the State in which he grew 
up. Lincoln abhorred slavery; Davis believed it to 
be right, and necessary to Southern agriculture. Who 
can say what might have been the result if Lincoln 
had gone South, and Davis, North? 

Union or Disunion? —In January, 1861, a member of 
Congress from each of the Border States met in Wash¬ 
ington to frame compromise resolutions. Crittenden 
accepted the compromises but the resolutions failed. 
In Kentucky, earnest speakers urged the people to 
be patient and moderate in their actions. They de¬ 
clared that “ Secession means revolution, and revolu¬ 
tion means war.” They expressed sympathy for the 
South, but advised the people to be loyal to the Union. 


260 


KENTUCKY 


The Legislature met in a called session, January 17, 
1861, and Governor Magoffin urged it to call a State 
convention to decide the future attitude toward the 
Federal Government. Vice-President Breckinridge 
and other Democratic leaders favored the call, but 
leaders of the Union party opposed it; for, they said, 
if the question be now submitted to the people, the 
hot temper of the times might lead the State to 
secede. After many earnest speeches on both sides, 
the Legislature adjourned without calling a conven¬ 
tion. It held another session in March, but nothing of 
importance was done. On this occasion, John J. Crit¬ 
tenden addressed the Assembly and made an eloquent 
plea for the Union, urging the members “never to con¬ 
sider the question of dissolution. ’ ’ A few days later, 
John C. Breckinridge addressed the Assembly on the 
Cause of the South, and pled for peace if this could 
be secured without sacrificing the rights and priv¬ 
ileges of the Southern people. 

Loyalty to the Union.— During the presidential cam¬ 
paign in 1860, there was but one main issue before 
the American voter—Union or Secession. There were 
four national tickets in the field, three of which stood 
for Union and one anti-Union. The total vote on the 
three Union tickets in Kentucky showed that in spite 
of Kentucky’s leaning to slavery and her sympathy for 
the South, the majority of her people were loyal to 
the Union. Kentucky was democratic at heart, but 
placed loyalty to the Federal Government above party 
spirit. The Lincoln and Hamlin ticket received only 
1,366 votes in Kentucky but it was elected in the coun¬ 
try at large. 


LOYALTY TO THE UNION 


261 


Secession.— Lincoln had said, “I believe this govern¬ 
ment cannot endure half slave and half free,” and 
that “A house divided against itself cannot stand.” 
Many Southern leaders believed that Lincoln would 
endeavor to free the slaves, and declared that if he 
should be elected the Southern States would secede. 
South Carolina was the first to carry out the threat. 
December 17, 1860, she passed a Secession Ordinance, 
and within a short time six other Southern States fol¬ 
lowed her out of the Union. The fatal step had been 
taken, and events now marched rapidly to a bloody 
conflict. A peace conference of twenty-one States as¬ 
sembled at Washington February 4, 1861, and on the 
same day delegates from the seceded States met at 
Montgomery, Alabama, to set up a government for 
the Confederate States. At this time Jefferson Davis 
was elected President. 

Inauguration of Lincoln.— March 4, Abraham Lincoln 
was inaugurated President of the United States. 1 In 
his inaugural address, he said to the South, “In your 
hands, my dissatisfied countrymen, and not in mine, 


1 No other President has ever entered office under such trying condi¬ 
tions. No other President was ever so misunderstood. Even the press 
of his own party sneered at his trip to Washington as the “grand caval¬ 
cade ” of “ Simple Susan. ’ ’ One headline—‘ ‘ Old Abe Kissed a Pretty 
Girl”—ridiculed a tender act of the homely great-hearted man. Numer¬ 
ous threats were made against his life by violent enemies, and the 
appointed time of his arrival in Washington was changed to avoid a 
threatening mob at Baltimore. The practiced politicians of the day 
wagged their heads doubtingly and even his own Cabinet mistrusted him 
as a leader. All were soon to learn that Nature had out 
“Of the unexhausted West 
With stuff untainted shaped a hero new.” 

Fate had chosen a rugged nobleman and brought him forward for a 
great task. 


262 


KENTUCKY 



is the momentous issue of civil war. . . .We are not 
enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. 
Though passion may have strained, it must not weaken 
the bond of affection.” In vain the noble heart of the 
great Kentuckian strove to avert war and save the 
Union. 

The Fall of Fort Sumpter. —At four o’clock on the 
morning of April 12, 1861, a ten-inch shell rose high 
in the air from a Confederate battery in Charleston 
harbor and burst over Fort Sumpter. It was “the 

first gun of the war” be- 
tween the States, and for 


General Robert Anderson, 

U. S. A. 

who was in command of Fort Sumpter. Anderson 
and his heroic little band had abandoned all other 
forts in the harbor. General Beauregard, the Con¬ 
federate commander, now demanded the evacua¬ 
tion of Fort Sumpter. Anderson refused, and the 
bombardment began. For three hours Anderson 
waited before returning the fire. Within thirty hours 


four years its solemn 
echoes resounded through 
a once peaceful land. Ken¬ 
tucky had furnished the 
leader of the North and 
the leader of the South, 
and she now furnished 
an officer to order the 
firing of the first shot 
in defense of the flag of the 
Union. The grave respon¬ 
sibility of this act fell upon 
Major Robert Anderson, 




NEUTRALITY 


263 


tlie fort was battered to pieces and set on fire by hot 
shot, and compelled to surrender. General Beaure¬ 
gard granted to Anderson and bis weary, powder- 
blackened little band generous terms of surrender, 
and showed them those acts of kindness a brave man 
always extends to a fallen foe. It is said that with the 
fall of Fort Sumpter, “A thrill went through the 
whole city” of Charleston, but that ‘ 4 thrill” let loose 
a brood of national horrors. Further debate was now 
closed. The die was cast. That first shot hurled a 
united North against a united South for four years. 


QUESTIONS AND SUGGESTIONS. 

How long had slavery existed in the United States? Why did most 
of the slaves drift to the Southern States? What is the ‘‘States’ 
Rights” question? Why did the breach between the North and South 
continue to widen? What was the attitude of Kentucky to slavery 
and secession? Sketch the lives of Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson 
Davis. What was the main issue before the people in the election of 
1860? What was Lincoln’s attitude to slavery? Who became Presi¬ 
dent of the Confederacy? Tell the story of the fall of Fort Sumpter. 


CHAPTER XXXIX 

KENTUCKY’S NEUTRALITY 

Immediately after the fall of Fort Sumpter Presi¬ 
dent Lincoln issued a call for troops. When he asked 
for four regiments from Kentucky, Governor Magoffin 
replied: “In answer, I say, emphatically, Kentucky 
will furnish no troops for the wicked purpose of sub¬ 
duing her sister Southern States.” Although the 
Governor sympathized strongly with the South he 


264 


KENTUCKY 


likewise refused to furnish troops to the Confederate 
States. The Union men of Kentucky now braced them¬ 
selves in one united effort to secure the neutrality of 
the State. Again the aged and tireless Crittenden 
threw his mighty influence into the balance against 
war, and if war must come, that Kentucky should re¬ 
main true to the Union and stand in her place as a 
peacemaker. April 17, 1861, he made an eloquent 
speech to a large assembly of the people at Lexington 
in which he advised them “not to be forced into civil 
strife for the North, nor dragged into it for the South 
—to take no part with either. ’ 91 Many other meet¬ 
ings were held throughout the State, and everywhere 
a desire for neutrality was expressed. Let the reader 
keep in mind that while the people of Kentucky were 
ardently Southern in sentiment, they just as ardently 
supported the Union and opposed war. They shud¬ 
dered at war between the kindred people of the States, 
and strove in a noble and manly way to prevent it. 
The Democrats believed in the right of a .state to 
secede whenever its constitutional liberties were de¬ 
nied it. The native Kentuckian harked back to his 
ancestral sires who settled the wilderness and laid 
the foundation of a free state. He guarded his per¬ 
sonal liberties with jealous care, hence, many who be¬ 
lieved in the right of secession flew to arms in aid of 
the South. 

Pleas for Peace.— Following the fall of Fort Sumpter, 
great excitement prevailed throughout the Union. 
The North and South were rapidly arming for the mad 
conflict. In the midst of his trying position, Governor 

1 Collins, I, p. 87. 


NEUTRALITY 


265 


Magoffin called a session of the Legislature to meet 
May 6. Immediately upon assembling, petitions be¬ 
gan to pour in from the women of the State— 
“Mothers, Wives, Sisters, Daughters of Kentucky,’’ 
asking the Assembly to “guard them from the direful 
calamity of civil war, by allowing Kentucky to main¬ 
tain inviolate her armed neutrality.” 1 The Unionist 
members of the Assembly favored “mediating neutral¬ 
ity,” a position friendly to the North and South alike. 
Crittenden had urged them to hold fast to the flag and 
adhere to a position of neutrality which would enable 
them to mediate for peace between the warring sec¬ 
tions. The delay caused by the declaration of neu¬ 
trality only put off the bloody conflict within her bor¬ 
der, but it also probably held Kentucky in the Union. 

Acts of Neutrality. —At a legislative conference of the 
Unionist leaders and representative men from the 
Breckinridge Southern Rights party it was agreed 
that “Six Arbiters” should be appointed, and that 
the Legislature would carry out whatever the arbiters 
should agree to recommend. On May 16, 1861, the 
House of Representatives adopted the report of the 
Committee on Federal Relations which set forth, 
“That this State and the citizens thereof should take 
no part in the civil war now being waged except as 
mediators and friends of the belligerent parties; and 
that Kentucky should, during the contest, occupy the 
position of strict neutrality.” It was further resolved 
“That the act of the Governor, in refusing to furnish 

1 Collins, Vol. I, p. 89. The position of ‘ ‘ armed neutrality ’ ’ called for 
State troops to act as guards to prevent either the armies of the North 
or of the South from invading Kentucky. 


266 


KENTUCKY 


troops or military force upon the call of the executive 
authority of the United States, under existing circum¬ 
stances, is approved.” 1 Before adjournment the Sen¬ 
ate passed similar resolutions. Thus the policy of neu¬ 
trality was adopted by both houses of the General 
Assembly. On May 20, Governor Magoffin issued a 
proclamation warning all other States, especially the 
United States and the Confederate States, against 
invading or occupying any place whatever within the 
boundary of Kentucky. The Legislature directed 
that State troops be organized and armed, and that 
money be raised for this purpose. It further declared 
that neither the arms nor the militia were to be used 
“against the Government of the United States, nor 
against the Confederate States, unless in protecting 
our soil from unlawful invasion.” 2 

Mention has been made of only a few of the im¬ 
portant steps that were taken by the leaders in Ken¬ 
tucky at this time to prevent strife. Had the other 
states tried as earnestly to avert war and hold the 
Union together, the troublous questions might have 
been settled peaceably. But such is the weakness of 
human reason, and the strength of human passion 
and prejudice, that it is probable that war, with all 
of its violence, had to come. The age-old question of 
slavery had to be settled, and perhaps it was necessary 
for our great country to pass through the blood and 
tire of battle “in order to form a more perfect union” 
and to “insure domestic tranquillity” in the years to 
follow. 

‘Collins, Vol. I, p. 90. 

2 Ibid., Vol. I, p. 91. 


NEUTRALITY 


267 


Kentucky and the Federal Government. —Governor 
Magoffin appointed General Simon Bolivar Buckner 
Inspector-General of Kentucky State Guards, General 
Scott Brown Adjutant General, and M. D. West Quar¬ 
termaster General. The military preparations for the 
defense of her border, and 
the declarations of neutral¬ 
ity she had made, attracted 
the attention of the officials 
of the Federal Government. 

Early in June, General 
George B. McClellan, com¬ 
mander of the Union troops 
north of the Ohio, asked 
General Buckner to meet 
him in Cincinnati for a 
conference concerning the 
affairs in Kentucky. After 
some discussion in which 
others present took part, 

General McClellan agreed not to violate the neutral 
rights of the State, provided it would enforce the laws 
and protect the property of the United States within 
its border. Believing that President Lincoln would 
endorse General McClellan’s action, Governor Magof¬ 
fin sent Gerenal Buckner and John J. Crittenden to 
Washington to explain to the President what had been 
done. Lincoln expressed a desire to avoid sending 
troops into Kentucky, and agreed to recognize the 
wishes of her people, but refused to say anything that 
would thereafter embarrass him in what he might deem 
to be his duty. The President made it clear to Messrs. 



Simon Bolivar Buckner, 
C. S. A. 


268 


KENTUCKY 


Buckner and Crittenden that he was unwilling for Ken¬ 
tucky, as a part of the Union, to assume the right to 
take a neutral position, but that he was willing, as a 
peace policy, to respect their wishes. Probably he 
foresaw that it would be impossible for Kentucky to 
remain neutral throughout the conflict, and “was ex¬ 
ceedingly tenderfooted ” on making promises that 
were not constitutional and that he might not be able 
to keep. 1 

The Results of Elections. —When the special session of 
Congress met July 4, 1862, at the call of President 
Lincoln, many a chair in the House and Senate was 
vacant. These representatives of the Southern States 
were now away rallying under the “stars and bars,” 
preparing to settle by an appeal to arms questions that 
Congress had failed to solve by ways of peace and rea¬ 
son. The call of the special session of Congress made 
it necessary to hold a congressional election in Ken¬ 
tucky. Union candidates and Southern Rights candi¬ 
dates were nominated. In the election held June 20, 
nine of the ten congressmen elected were Union men. 
The popular majority in the State was large, showing 
that the people of Kentucky were opposed to secession. 
Among those elected was the trusted and venerable 
Crittenden, whose influence and intense patriotism 
was one cause of the overwhelming majority through¬ 
out the State. 

August 5, 1861, an election of members of the State 
Legislature was held. This time the majority vote 
was still larger, resulting in the election of one hun- 

1 For a full and interesting account of these conferences see McElroy, 
“Kentucky in the Nation’s History,” p. 535 et seq. 


NEUTRALITY 


269 


dred and three Unionists to the House and Senate, 
against thirty-five of the opposing party. The reader 
should bear in mind that war was on in earnest, that 
the battle of Bull Run had been fought two weeks 
prior to this election, and that the issues between the 
North and South were now clearly drawn. So, the 
results of these elections could have but one meaning 
—Kentucky’s increasing loyalty to the Union. 

Events were now rushing to a climax. Already on 
April 22, companies of troops had organized in the 
State and marched oft to the aid of the Confederacy. 1 
Early in September, 1861, Confederate troops oc¬ 
cupied and fortified strong positions at Hickman and 
Columbus in the southwest, and near Cumberland 
Gap in the southeastern part of the State. Immedi¬ 
ately following these invasions General U. S. Grant 
entered Kentucky with a large Union force and occu¬ 
pied Paducah. The Legislature promptly ordered 
the United States flag to be unfurled over the capitol. 
Such an act could leave no further doubt concerning 
the Union sentiment of the General Assembly. Gov¬ 
ernor Magoffin requested President Lincoln and Presi¬ 
dent Davis each to withdraw their troops from Ken¬ 
tucky, but each declined to do so, except on conditions 
that were not acceptable. September 11, resolutions 
were passed by the Legislature instructing Governor 
Magoffin to require all Confederate troops to be with¬ 
drawn from Kentucky soil, unconditionally. The 
Governor vetoed the resolutions, and the Assembly 
passed them over his veto. The Governor then issued 


1 Collins, Vol. I, p. 88. 


270 


KENTUCKY 


the required proclamation, but the Confederate forces 
refused to obey the order. 

Neutrality Abandoned. —On September 18, the Legis¬ 
lature passed resolutions to expel the Confederate 
troops, and provided that General Robert Anderson, 
who was in command of the Federal forces on the 
Cumberland, be given authority to call out a volunteer 
force in Kentucky for that purpose. It was further 
resolved that “no citizen shall be molested on account 
of his political opinions; that no citizen’s property 
shall be taken . . . nor shall any slave be set free.” 
That “the fullest protection of the government” shall 
be given to “all peaceable citizens and their families.” 
The resolutions further provided that the military 
force of the State be placed under the command of 
General Thomas Crittenden. The resolutions ap¬ 
pealed “to the patriotism of every Kentuckian,” who 

0 

was “confidently relied upon to give active aid in 
the defense of the Commonwealth.” Magoffin like¬ 
wise vetoed these resolutions, which were promptly 
passed over his veto, and the same day he issued the 
proclamation. 1 It must be clear to the reader that 
by these acts Kentucky had officially abandoned her 
position of neutrality. 

We who now look back upon the happenings of those 
stormy days can see that in the midst of the mad 
conflict it was impossible for the State to maintain 
a neutral position. Kentucky continued to cling to 
her ideas of personal liberty; she abandoned neutral¬ 
ity, but stayed in the Union. 

1 Collins, Vol. I, p. 93. 



THE CIVIL WAR 


271 


QUESTIONS AND SUGGESTIONS. 

What was Governor Magoffin’s reply to • Lincoln and Davis ’ call 
for troops? What position did Kentucky endeavor to take in the war? 
What efforts were made to keep Kentucky out of the conflict? What 
did the “Six Arbiters” do? Define Governor Magoffin’s attitude to 
the war. For what purpose were the State Guards organized? What 
were the results of the elections in 1861 and 1862? Describe the peace 
efforts of John J. Crittenden. By what acts did Kentucky officially 
abandon her neutrality? 


~1r 

CHAPTER XL 

THE CIVIL WAR 

As soon as she abandoned her neutral position, Ken¬ 
tucky at once became the pawn of the North and the 
South. Being a border State she became the recruit¬ 
ing ground and the battlefield of both the Union and 
Confederate armies, and for four years suffered all 
the woes of her unfortunate position. It will be 
neither pleasant nor profitable for the reader to dwell 
upon the awful destruction of life and property that 
followed. The story of the bloody tragedy has been 
told many times, and may be read in larger histories 
of our country; hence, our account of Kentucky’s part 
in one of the greatest civil wars in history will be 
brief. 

Breaking Up of the State Guard. —The State Guard 
which had been equipped and trained for home pro¬ 
tection, now broke up. Many of the troops laid down 


272 


KENTUCKY 


their arms, others took theirs with them and went 
South to join General Buckner, now in command of 
a Confederate army. Others remained under General 
Thomas Crittenden, a Union officer of the State Guard. 
Back in July, General Lloyd Tilghman had resigned 
from the State Guard and led away a Kentucky regi¬ 
ment to join the Confederate army. Captain John 
Hunt Morgan, afterwards the famous Kentucky cav¬ 
alry raider, soon joined General Buckner who was now 
stationed at Bowling Green with orders to invade Ken¬ 
tucky. With Captain Morgan, who was also an officer 
of the State Guard, went most of his company, the 
“Lexington Rifles,’’ all carrying their guns. The at¬ 
titude of the State Guard had caused the Unionists 
grave fear, for it was known that most of its officers 
and men sympahized with the South. 

The Home Guards. —A reserve force known as the 
Home Guards, consisting chiefly of Union men, had 
been organized. They were irregular troops, poorly 
equipped and disciplined and were sometimes guilty 
of unwise conduct. In their zeal for the Union cause 
they arrested numerous persons who were known to 
sympathize with the Confederacy. Ex-Governor 
Morehead, Colonel Reuben T. Durrett, editor of the 
Louisville Courier , and James B. Clay were among 
the prominent men who were arrested hnd sent to 
prison. The Legislature strongly condemned such 
unjustifiable arrests, and General Anderson issued a 
proclamation against such acts, and promised protec¬ 
tion to the people. The State was now threatened with 
invasion by Confederate armies, and it was greatly 
distracted by petty and sometimes bloody riots. 



THE CIVIL WAR 


273 


The “Lincoln Guns.”— President Lincoln had been 
notified of every step that had been taken, and was 
watching the affairs of his native State with fear, and 
with sympathetic interest. Early in May, 1861, Lieu¬ 
tenant William Nelson, himself a Kentuckian, induced 
the President to furnish 
arms to equip Union troops 
in the State. Accordingly 
five thousand muskets were 
shipped to Cincinnati, and 
from thence they were dis¬ 
tributed to Union camps 
in and near Kentucky. 

This shipment of “Lincoln 
guns,” as they were called, 
aroused the anger of those 
who sympathized with the 
Confederacy, but it awak¬ 
ened the enthusiasm of the 
Home Guards and the 
Union leaders. 

Recruiting Camps.— By the 5th of August, General 
William Nelson had established a camp in Garrard 
County for recruiting Union troops in Kentucky. In 
reply to Governor Magoffin’s charge that this was a 
violation of the neutrality of the State, President Lin¬ 
coln said that this force consisted entirely of Ken¬ 
tuckians recruited in the vicinity of their own homes, 
and therefore he refused to remove them. This re¬ 
cruiting station, which was known as Camp Dick Rob¬ 
inson, became a strong and important rallying and 
training post for Union troops. About the same time 



General William Nelson, 

U. S. A. 




274 


KENTUCKY 


General Humphrey Marshall was enlisting and train¬ 
ing Confederate troops at a camp in Owen County. 
Thus rallying and recruiting went on for the Union 
and for the Confederacy, while each watched the other 
with a jealous eye. September 18, the State Legisla¬ 
ture directed Governor Magoffin to call out forty thou¬ 
sand troops to expel Confederate invaders from Ken¬ 
tucky. General Robert Anderson was requested to 
take instant command of these troops. 

First Battles in Kentucky. —So far there had been no 
battles save minor skirmishes, but on October 21, a 
hot fight occurred between the Federal troops under 
Colonel T. T. Garrard and the Confederates under 
General Felix Zollicoffer, in which the Confederates 
were defeated. This battle took place at Camp Wild 
Cat in the rugged forest-covered hills of Rockcastle 
County. Shortly afterwards Union troops under Gen¬ 
eral William Nelson defeated another body of Con¬ 
federates at Ivy Mountain in Pike County. 

A House Divided Against Itself. —These conflicts on 
Kentucky soil added fuel to the war flame already 
burning. Many state officials resigned to join the 
Confederate army, and their places were filled by 
Union men. John C. Breckinridge left his seat in the 
United States Senate in September to take command 
of the First Kentucky Brigade of the Confederate 
army, and the legislature elected Garrett Davis to 
succeed him. 1 The roads were now thronged with 

1 On October 2, the General Assembly asked for the resignation of 
Senators Breckinridge and Powell since they “do not represent the will 
of the people. ’ ’ Collins, Vol. I, p. 95. December 2, the U. S. Senate 
ordered that since John C. Breckinridge “has joined the enemies of his 


THE CIVIL WAR 275 

hurrying volunteers eager cast their fortunes with 
their kinsmen of the South. About ten thousand Ken¬ 
tuckians joined the Confederate army within a few 
months. Still larger numbers just as eagerly gathered 
under Federal leaders in defense of the Union. The 



Thomas L. Crittenden, U. S. A. George B. Crittenden, C. S. A. 

Brothers who fought on opposing sides. 

best blood of Kentucky, the noble sons of pioneer 
fathers who had laid the foundations of the State, 
were marshalled under opposing* banners. Families 
were divided against each other. Even the sons of 
the noble John J. Crittenden, the great patriot and 
peacemaker, fought on opposing sides. General 

country and is now in arms against the Government” that “the traitor 
Breckinridge be expelled.” Collins, Vol. f, p. 97. 




276 


KENTUCKY 


Thomas Crittenden led the bine of the North against 
the gray of the South marshalled under his brother, 
General George B. Crittenden. During the war, it 
sometimes happened that beloved sons of the same 
household were sent home, one wrapped in the stars 
and bars, the other in the stars and stripes, to rest 
side by side in an eternal peace in the old family 
burying ground. 

A great sorrow had fallen upon the land. Strong 
men who had pled for peace now wept over the woes 
that had overtaken their beloved State . 1 Among the 
distinguished Kentuckians who became leaders of the 
Union forces, were Generals Robert Anderson, Wil¬ 
liam Nelson, Thomas L. Crittenden, Cassius M. Clay, 
Edward H. Hobson, Lovell H. Rousseau, Speed S. 
Fry, Green Clay Smith, and T. T. Garrard. Some of 
those who became distinguished leaders of Confeder¬ 
ate armies were General Albert Sidney Johnston, 
Simon B. Buckner, John B. Hood, John C. Breckin¬ 
ridge, John H. Morgan, Ben Hardin Helm, William 
Preston, Humphrey Marshall, and George B. Critten¬ 
den. The ablest men of Kentucky lined up on oppos¬ 
ing sides to lead into a deadly grapple the finest bodies 
of soldiers the world has ever seen . 2 

A Strange Episode.— The secession element, realizing 
that the State had refused to leave the Union, and 
desiring to unite it with the Confederacy, called a 
‘‘sovereignty convention’’ to meet at Russellville, No- 

1 See Shaler, ‘‘ Kentucky, * ’ p. 254 et seq. 

2 A table of measurements of soldiers of the Civil War shows that the 
average height of the Kentucky soldiers exceeded New England troops 
nearly one inch, and likewise exceeded them in girth of chest and head. 
See Shaler, ‘‘Kentucky,” p. 372 et seq. 


THE CIVIL WAR 277 

vember 18, to form a ‘ ‘ provisional government. ’ ’ This 
singular assembly met and passed a declaration of 
independence and an ordinance of secession. Dele¬ 
gates were sent to the Confederate Congress at Rich¬ 
mond. George W. Johnson was chosen Governor and 
the usual state officers were elected. Bowling Green 



Bombardment or Fort Donelson 

was selected as the seat of government, and on De¬ 
cember 10, following, the Confederate Congress went 
through the form of admitting Kentucky to member¬ 
ship in the Confederacy. Nothing, however, came of 
this little episode. The “provisional government” 
soon left the State with the Southern army under Gen¬ 
eral Johnston. At no time was Kentucky under the 
control of a civil government of the Confederacy. 

Battle of Mill Springs.— Confederate armies now occu¬ 
pied strong military positions along the southern and 
western borders of the State and were eager to invade 





278 


KENTUCKY 


it. January 19, 1862, Union troops under General 
George H. Thomas defeated an invading Confederate 
force under General Zollicoffer at Mill Springs in 
Pulaski County. General Zollicoffer was killed, and 
liis troops were driven into Tennessee. 

Fall of Forts Henry and Donelson. —Beginning Febru¬ 
ary 6, in a ten days’ campaign, General Grant com¬ 
pelled the surrender of Fort Henry on the Tennessee, 
and Fort Donelson on the Cumberland River. 
Generals Floyd and Pillow left General S. B. Buck¬ 
ner in command of Fort Donelson and with a few 
troops escaped on the night of the third day of its 
siege. At daybreak the next morning when the Union 
forces were about to renew the attack, General Buck¬ 
ner asked for terms of surrender. To this request 
Grant replied, “No terms except unconditional and 
immediate surrender can be accepted.” This incident 
led popular fancy afterwards to call the great silent 
warrior, U. S. Grant, “Unconditional Surrender” 
Grant. General Buckner declared Grant’s demand un¬ 
generous; but when the prisoners were permitted to 
keep their personal baggage, and the officers their side 
arms, he expressed his thanks for such generous treat¬ 
ment. 1 About twelve thousand Confederate prisoners 
were surrendered at the fall of Fort Donelson. This 
campaign broke the long Confederate line and caused 
the hasty retreat of General Johnston and his Confed¬ 
erate army from Bowling Green. A large Federal 
army under General Don Carlos Buell followed the re- 

1 This act made the two generals lifelong friends. Years afterward 
General Buckner aided Grant when he was overtaken by finaiicial trou¬ 
bles. When Grant died, General Buckner was a pallbearer at his funeral. 



THE CIVIL WAR 279 

treating Confederates southward and took possession 
of Nashville. 

The Battle of Shiloh. —On April 6, 1862, General 
Grant’s army was attacked and defeated by the Con¬ 
federates under General Albert Sidney Johnston at 
Shiloh, or Pittsburg Landing, Tennessee. The next. 
day heavy re-enforcements under General Buell ar¬ 
rived, and the second battle of Shiloh was fought, end¬ 
ing in the defeat and rout of the Confederate army. 
Many Kentuckians fought on both sides and a total 
of about twelve hundred of them were killed. It was 
in this battle that the Kentucky poet, O’Hara, caught 
in his arms his fallen General, Albert Sidney John¬ 
ston, who was killed in the first day’s fight. This was 
one of the bloodiest battles of the war. 

Kentucky was now under the complete control of 
the Federal army, but the Union Victories in the West 
were more than offset by defeats in the East. The 
National Government was beset by many troublesome 
questions. Now that war between the States was in 
progress, most of the Northern leaders were demand¬ 
ing the freedom of all slaves. However, many Union 
men were opposed to such a course, especially those 
in the border states who had supported the Govern¬ 
ment. Many of the leaders of the Union cause in 
Kentucky were large slaveholders, and while Presi¬ 
dent Lincoln was opposed to slavery he did not wish 
to offend any loyal adherents to the Government, or to 
violate his constitutional authority. 

The Slaves Freed in District of Columbia.— In April, 
1862, slavery was abolished by Congress in the Dis¬ 
trict of Columbia. Crittenden and other Kentucky 


280 


KENTUCKY 


statesmen in Congress opposed the measure, for they 
saw in it the doom of slavery, and rightly reasoned 
that it was the beginning of the freedom of all slaves. 
The Kentuckians still contended, as they had from 
the first, that the individual and the State should 
* be permitted to decide the question for themselves. 
This act of Congress and the military policy adopted 
by the Government, by which Kentucky was placed 
under martial law, aroused much anger and resent¬ 
ment. 

Martial Law Declared. —General Jeremiah T. Boyle 
was made commandant in Kentucky in 1862, and a 
Provost Marshal was appointed for each county. Or¬ 
ders were issued requiring any who had given aid 
and sympathy to the Confederacy to take oath of al¬ 
legiance to the Union, and all who hereafter should 
give aid and comfort to the enemy should be arrested 
and dealt with according to military law. The oath 
contained the printed warning, 4 ‘The penalty for vio¬ 
lating this oath is death. ” It was natural that such 
an order should offend those who sympathized with 
the Confederacy, but it must be remembered that it 
was a war measure and that it did not violate the cus¬ 
toms of civilized warfare. In some cases the order 
was abused and cruelly applied, but General Boyle 
showed as much leniency as possible. His orders were 
from Edwin M. Stanton, the merciless Secretary of 
War, and,'as an officer, his duty was to obey. The 
reign of martial law in the State maddened the baser 
class and provoked them to many crimes against 
peaceful citizens. 


SECOND INVASION 


281 


QUESTIONS AND SUGGESTIONS. 

What effect did the abandonment of neutrality have upon the war 
in Kentucky? Describe the breaking up of the' State Guards. Who 
were the Home Guards? What were the “Lincoln guns’’? Describe 
the first battle fought in Kentucky. What Avas the effect of the 
divided sentiment for the North and South? Give an account of the 
“sovereignty convention” that met in Russellville. Describe the Battle 
of Mill Springs, the fall of Fort Donelson and the Bat'le of Shiloh. 
What was the first step taken by the Government toward freeing the 
slaves? What was the effect of martial law in Kentucky? 




CHAPTER XLI 

THE SECOND INVASION OF KENTUCKY 
Morgan’s cavalry raids 

If the reader will bear in mind the character of 
the Kentucky people, their love of freedom of thought 
and independent action, and how they opposed all 
laws that threatened their personal liberty, he will 
readily understand the resentment that the Federal 
martial law aroused. The loyal Union people sub¬ 
mitted, in the belief that it was a necessary war meas¬ 
ure, and that it was not the object of the Government 
to invade their rights. Some of the Provost Marshals 
made it a pretext for arresting their enemies and seiz¬ 
ing their property for the slightest cause. “The 
people of a district or county fared well or ill, ac¬ 
cording to the character of the petty local provost in 


KENTUCKY 


282 

authority.” 1 Upon the whole, however, the laws 
were enforced with justice and moderation, and were 
probably necessary to protect innocent citizens from 
the lawless element. 

The Guerrillas.— All wars have a tendency to bring the 
bad element of society to the surface; especially is this 
true of civil strifes. An awful bitterness and hatred 
existed between many Union and Confederate sym¬ 
pathizers, who, when not controlled by reason and jus¬ 
tice, were guilty of many crimes. Bands of wild and 
wicked men who had some real or fancied grievance 
against other persons now began to rob, pillage and 
murder. Many of these outlaws were deserters from 
both armies, who cherished a hatred for the Union 
officers and soldiers whose duty it was to carry out 
military orders. Most of these guerrillas, as they 
were called, were unsoldierly rubbish of Southern sym¬ 
pathy who would dash into unprotected towns to loot, 
destroy, and murder defenseless Union men. Often¬ 
times they appeared in considerable bodies, robbed 
banks and stores, and destroyed public and private 
property. They were sometimes strong enough to 
overcome the home guards, and loot the entire town. 2 
But the better element of the Union and Confederacy 

1 Smith, “ History of Kentucky,” p. 638. 

2 Some of the Confederate officials encouraged the organization of 
guerrilla bands, but their crimes became so many and violent that many 
of the Confederate generals protested against it. Under date of March 
18, 1865, General N. B. Forrest wrote to John C. Breckinridge, the 
Confederate Secretary of War, condemning these “roving bands of 
guerrillas, jay hawkers, and plunderers . . . who are dodging from pillar 
to post, preying upon the people, robbing them of their horses and 
other property, to the manifest injury of the country and our cause.” 


SECOND INVASION 283 

alike opposed the guerrillas and joined in hunting 
them down. Many were captured and immediately 
hanged on the spot where their crimes had been com¬ 
mitted. The arrested guerrilla usually claimed to be 
a regular soldier of the Confederate army. Even the 
notorious Sue Mundy (Jerome Clarke), Henry Met¬ 
calfe, and Billy Magruder, 
who were guilty of many 
savage crimes, endeavored 
to save themselves by this 
plea. The crimes com¬ 
mitted by the guerrillas 
aroused bitter retaliation 
against any persons sus¬ 
pected of sympathizing 
with them. Thus violence 
was met by violence while 
the innocent often became 
the sufferers. 

Morgan’s Cavalry Raids.— j 0HN Hu nt Morgan, C. S. A. 
During the war the State 

was many times invaded by the dashing cavalry 
raiders under General John H. Morgan. This was a 
regular branch of the Confederate cavalry sent into 
Kentucky for the purpose of breaking lines of com¬ 
munication between Federal armies, destroying or car¬ 
rying off army supplies, burning railroad bridges and 
closing tunnels to hinder the movements of Union 
armies and supplies. They had many clashes with the 
home guards and small detachments of Union troops 
that were bloody affairs, but generally of short dura¬ 
tion. Morgan and his well-mounted men moved like 





284 


KENTUCKY 



a whirlwind from place to place, striking wherever op¬ 
portunity offered, and never tarrying long enough 
to permit a large Union force to be brought against 
them. The methods of the great raider were new in 

warfare, and under his 
masterly leadership great¬ 
ly handicapped the opera¬ 
tions of the Union armies, 
and aided the Confeder¬ 
ates. Morgan’s band was 
well officered, 1 and except¬ 
ing the acts of a few de¬ 
tached stragglers, was not 
guilty of deeds contrary to 
the usage of warfare. In 
July, 1862, Morgan dashed 
into Tompkinsville, Mon¬ 
roe County, and defeated 
two hundred and fifty Fed¬ 
eral Cavalry, struck north 
Governor Beriah Magoeein on the railroad lines, de¬ 
stroying supply trains and 
seizing horses for use in the Confederate army. At 
Cynthiana he captured about five hundred Federal sol¬ 
diers under Colonel J. J. Landrum, after a hot tight. In 
the meantime he was being pursued by a superior 
Federal force under General Green Clay Smith and 
Colonel Frank Wolford. Morgan now turned south 
capturing towns and burning government stores as he 


1 Colonel Basil Duke and Captain Thomas H. Hines were two of the 
most distinguished officers in Morgan’s command. Each gave a brilliant 
service after the war in the civil affairs of the State. 



SECOND INVASION 


285 


went. In this raid, in twenty-four days, he had trav¬ 
eled a thousand miles, fought many battles, destroyed 
military stores and spread general alarm through the 
State. 

A Change of Governors.— In the midst of the excite¬ 
ment at this time a change in the civil head of the State 
occurred. Governor Magoffin, who was in open sym¬ 
pathy with the South, and, therefore, out of harmony 
with the Union Legislature, informed that body that 
if his “successor would be a conservative, just man, of 
high position and character/’ he would resign. 1 The 
conditions he required were met, and James F. Rob¬ 
inson became acting Governor. Magoffin’s position 
had been a very trying one. The measures that were 
passed over his vetoes, and against his sympathies, 
he ordered to be faithfully carried out. He was open 
and honorable in his public acts, and patriotic in re¬ 
quiring that his successor be a worthy one. 

Lincoln’s Plan to Free the Slaves.— On March 6, 1862, 
President Lincoln recommended to Congress the pass¬ 
ing of an act for the gradual freeing of the slaves, 
promising to any State that would accept the plan, 
to pay for the losses caused “by such a change of sys¬ 
tem.” Both houses of Congress passed the resolu¬ 
tions, but, whether from pride or principle, none of 
the slave States would free their slaves and accept pay 
for them. In Kentucky alone the value of the slaves 
amounted to about one hundred million dollars; but 
the offer was not accepted. This act of the President 
and Congress was but another step toward the final, 
unconditional freedom of the negro. The policy of non- 

1 For full account see Collins, I, p. 108. 



286 


KENTUCKY 



interference with slavery was gradually passing. The 
leaders of the North now believed the time had come 
to destroy slavery forever on American soil—this 
policy was soon to be adopted. 

The Second Invasion of Kentucky. —At the close of 
the summer of 1862, General Braxton Bragg’s army 
of forty-five thousand Confederates was stationed at 
Chattanooga, and General Kirby Smith with fifteen 
thousand was at Knoxville. General Buell with a 

strong Union army lay 
near Nashville. The sec¬ 
ond invasion of Kentucky 
now began. General John 
H. Mor gan dashed north 
and cut Buell’s line of com¬ 
munication to Louisville by 
burning railroad bridges 
and closing the tunnel near 
Gallatin, Tennessee. Gen¬ 
erals Kirby Smith and 
Bragg broke camp and 
moved rapidly into central 
Kentucky. The State was 

Don Carlos Buell, U. S. A. poorly defended, and 

Louisville was a vast store¬ 
house of Union supplies—a prize much coveted by the 
Confederates. Seeing the peril of Kentucky and his 
own danger of being cut oft from his army stores and 
possibly surrounded by the enemy, Buell set his army in 
motion to reach Louisville, if possible, before Bragg. 
In the beginning the race was favorable to the Con¬ 
federates, and if General Bragg had pressed his op- 


SECOND INVASION 


287 


portunity he doubtless would have captured Louis¬ 
ville, and probably destroyed Buell’s army. But ow¬ 
ing’ to the hesitation and delays of General Bragg and 
the speed of General Buell, the Union army entered 
Louisville September 25, where it was heavily re-en¬ 
forced. In the meantime General Kirby Smith had 
entered Kentucky and defeated a Federal army of 
eight thousand men under Generals Nelson and Man- 
son near Richmond, then moved on to Lexington where 
he was joined by General Morgan’s cavalry. General 
Heth was sent in pursuit of the fleeing Federals and 
drove them back on the Ohio near Covington and Cin¬ 
cinnati. Instead of giving battle to Buell, General 
Bragg now turned toward 
Lexington. About the first 
of October, with an army 
re-enforced to one hundred 
thousand men, General 
Buell went in pursuit of 
the Confederates. October 
otli, parts of the two armies 
came together in a bloody 
battle at Perryville that 
lasted from noon until 
dark. The next morning 
the Confederate army re¬ 
treated. Shortly after¬ 
ward the entire forces of the two armies were united 
near Harrodsburg and a great battle was expected. 
But General Bragg declined an engagement, and re¬ 
treated south, carrying with him a “forty-mile wagon 
train” of supplies for his army. Kentucky was again 



Braxton Bragg, C. S. A. 





288 


KENTUCKY 


clear of the Confederates, and remained under Union 
control to the end of the war. During this invasion 
there were many important skirmish battles. Sharp 
fights took place at Falmouth, Owensboro, Shepherds- 
ville, New Castle, Augusta and other places. Most of 
these were between the home guards of these places 
and detached portions of the Confederate army. 

Morgan’s Last Raids.— In December, 1862, General 
John Morgan with three thousand cavalrymen made 
another picturesque raid into Kentucky, captured 
Glasgow and Elizabethtown, destroyed the trestle- 
works at Muldraugli’s Hill and tore up the railroad 
track. Near Rolling Fork he was attacked by the 
Federals under General John M. Harlan and suffered 
severe losses, but escaped into Tennessee. In June, 
1863, he again returned to Kentucky with twenty-five 
hundred daring cavalrymen, passed through Burks- 
ville, Columbia, Lebanon, and on to the Ohio at Bran¬ 
denburg, where he crossed the river into Indiana. The 
whole country north and south of the Ohio now 
swarmed with enemies in pursuit of him. Notwith¬ 
standing his daring, swift movements and great cour¬ 
age, his band was overtaken, scattered, and Morgan 
and most of his men were captured. On the 28th of 
November he and six of his companions escaped from 
■ prison at Columbus, Ohio. In June, 1864, this wild¬ 
riding genius of raider warfare returned to Kentucky 
on his last campaign. On this occasion he captured 
four hundred prisoners and war stores at Mount 
Sterling. Then he divided his forces and sent them 
raiding in many directions. After many hard fought 
skirmishes, being himself repeatedly attacked, he gath- 


SECOND INVASION 289 

ered up his weakened and scattered band and escaped 
into Virginia. Shortly afterwards he was killed in 
a surprise attack at Greenville, Tennessee—so passed 
the brave partisan and picturesque Confederate 
raider. 

In the August election of 1863, Thomas Bramlette 
and Richard T. Jacob, Union Democratic candidates, 
were chosen Governor and Lieutenant Governor, re¬ 
spectively. Both these men were Federal officers and 
the State was overwhelmingly for the Union, yet 
the radical war element aroused great resentment by 
military interference in the election. The polls were 
guarded by soldiers and none were allowed to vote who 
were not in sympathy with the Union cause. During 
these years, every state election was connected by 
political interest with the national issues. 

Slavery Doomed.— President Lincoln had promised 
not to disturb the rights of the slaveholder as long as 
the Constitution and laws of the United States were 
observed. In this promise he was doubtless sincere, 
but he now saw that to bring the war to a successful 
close and to save the Union, slavery must be abolished. 
To have kept his promise would have only deferred 
the agony. Destiny had decreed that slavery must 
go. Even most of the monarchies had liberated their 
slaves, and yet our great free republic of the United 
States still held men in bondage. Victor Hugo, the 
great Frenchman, declared, “Liberty is wearing a 
chain! The United States must renounce slavery, or 
they must renounce Liberty.” 

Emancipation Proclamation.— On September 22, 1862, 
Lincoln issued his celebrated emancipation proclama- 


290 


KENTUCKY 


tion, which announced that all slaves in States which 
are in rebellion January 1, 1863, will be declared free. 
It was a bid for the South to cease war and return to 
the Union; it was likewise a warning that within one 
hundred days, if she did not, her slaves would be set 
free. The South only jeered; and, on January 1, 1863, 
the final proclamation was issued. “As a fit and neces¬ 
sary war measure for suppressing the rebellion,” said 
the President, “I order and declare that all persons 
held as slaves within the States now in rebellion are, 
and henceforth shall be free.” Kentucky and other 
slaveholding States which had remained in the Union 
were excepted, but the people knew that it meant the 
final doom of slavery in all the States. Many had 
remained loyal to the Union in the belief that the 
rights of slavery would be maintained in the State. 
To them it was a severe blow, and created much anti¬ 
union talk. But the hand of destiny was shaping the 
movements of the time more than all the statesmen 
of the North and South. 

In January, 1864, General Boyle resigned as military 
commandant of Kentucky, and General Steven G. Bur- 
bridge was appointed his successor. The new com¬ 
mandant was ordered by General Grant to stop “that 
habit of raiding parties . . . visiting towns, villages, 
and farms where there are no Federal forces, pillag¬ 
ing Union families.” As an officer, acting under the 
orders of his superior, General Burbridge was com¬ 
pelled to take severe measures to suppress the guer¬ 
rillas, but in his foolish zeal he arrested persons sus¬ 
pected of disloyalty to the Union and sent them out 
of the State, tried to control the elections by military 


RECONSTRUCTION 


291 


force, interfered with the rights of candidates to run 
for office, and in other ways deprived the people of 
their civil rights. A strong military hand was needed, 
but not the hand of a tyrant. The brutal violence of 
Burbridge was condemned by fair-minded Union men, 
and it developed much bitterness in the hearts of all 
freemen of the State. 


QUESTIONS AND SUGGESTIONS. 

Why did the people resent martial law? Who were the Guerrillas? 
Describe Morgan’s first cavalry raid. Why did Governor Magoffin re¬ 
sign? Who succeeded him? What plan did President Lincoln pro¬ 
pose to free the slaves? Give an account of the second invasion of 
Kentucky. Describe Morgan’s last raids. Why was slavery doomed? 
When and in what manner did Lincoln issue his emancipation procla¬ 
mation? Who succeeded General Boyle as military commandant in 
Kentucky ? 


CHAPTER XLII 

CLOSE OF THE WAR 

PEACE AND RECONSTRUCTION 

Recruiting Negro Soldiers.— By the beginning of the 
year of 1864, the tide of Confederate success had been 
turned at Gettysburg, and the Confederate lines were 
being pushed southward. The Government was rally¬ 
ing every possible force to overwhelm the South and 
end the war. Kentucky had promptly complied with 



KENTUCKY 


292 

all demands for men and money to carry on the war, 
but when the Government began recruiting negro sol-* 
diers within the State it aroused many angry protests. 
The Kentuckians were brave but proud soldiers and 
were used to thinking of negroes as servants, un¬ 
worthy as companions in arms. Fiery speeches were 
made against the order in the State and by Kentucky 
members in Congress. Colonel Frank Wolford, the 
gallant Union cavalry leader, aroused the people 
against “keeping step to the music of the Union along¬ 
side of negro soldiers,” and for his defiance was 
clapped into prison. Lieutenant Governor Jacob also 
suffered arrest for denouncing the acts of the Govern¬ 
ment. These and similar protests were the natural 
outgrowth of the relation of master and slave. While 
still resenting Federal interference with their civil 
rights, the people, after a time, grudgingly submitted. 

Elections in 1864. —We must turn now to an interest¬ 
ing political situation in the State during the year of 
1864. In his extreme zeal for the Union, General 
Burbridge attempted military interference in the elec¬ 
tion of a judge to the court of appeals. The Conserva¬ 
tive Union men, however, rallied around Judge George 
Robertson and defeated Mortimer M. Benton, who was 
the nominee of the Radical wing, and General Bur- 
bridge’s candidate. Judge Robertson was a dis¬ 
tinguished lawyer and patriot, but opposed to the 
severe military conduct of the Radical leaders. In 
November of this year came also the presidential elec¬ 
tion. The candidates were Abraham Lincoln and 
General George B. McClellan. Lincoln favored main¬ 
taining the Union without slavery; McClellan favored 


RECONSTRUCTION 


293 


continuing it, but with slavery. The leading spirit 
of the Radical party was the able divine, Robert J. 
Breckinridge, 1 and of the Union Democrat party was 
Judge James Guthrie. The Union Democrats won in 
the State, giving to McClellan a majority of over 
thirty-six thousand votes, but President Lincoln was 
elected in the country at large. The results of these 
elections show that Kentucky still stood for the Union 
but against interference with slavery; for civil home 
rule, against military misrule. Right or wrong, the 
State consistently held to her traditions concerning 
the rights of her people. 

The Fall of the Confederacy. —By the beginning of 
1864, only Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, 
and Georgia remained under the control of the Con¬ 
federate army. It was now certain that the gallant 
but weakened armies of the South must soon yield. 
Numerous bloody battles were fought by the Confed¬ 
erates against overwhelming odds. Sherman marched 
a large army southeast through Georgia to the sea, 
and Grant captured Richmond, the Confederate cap¬ 
ital. General Lee’s broken, ragged and starving army, 
now reduced to only twenty-six thousand men, many 
of whom were without arms, surrendered at Appomat¬ 
tox Court House, Virginia, April 9, 1865. The great 
struggle ended when Johnston surrendered to Sher¬ 
man seventeen days later. 

Close of the War. —The war was over! A shout of 
joy rang through the land; and yet, crepe was on the 

1 The Reverend Breckinridge exerted an influence second only to that 
of John J. Crittenden in preventing Kentucky from seceding from the 
Union. 



294 


KENTUCKY 


doors of thousands of homes, and there was mourning 
about as many hearthstones for unreturning husbands, 
sons and brothers. Be it said to the lasting glory of 
the victors that no government ever showed so great 
mercy to those who had tried to wreck it. Only one 



Gen. U. S. Grant, U. S. A. Gen. Robert E. Lee, C. S. A. 

Lee and Grant were both graduates of West Point; both gave an able 
military service to the cause he believed just. Following the war Grant 
became President of the United States for two terms. Lee nobly gave his 
remaining years to the education of the youth of the land he loved. 

Confederate, the keeper of the Andersonville Prison, 
was put to death—not because he was a Confederate 
captive, but because of his many inhuman crimes 
against helpless prisoners. When Lee surrendered, 
Grant said to him, “Let all men who claim to own a 
horse or mule take the animals home with them to 
work their little farms.” Out of the bountiful supplies 





RECONSTRUCTION 


295 


of the Union army Grant ordered that the hungry 
Confederate soldiers be fed. Notwithstanding the 
bloody struggle of four years, the time for peace had 
now come. The brave had met the brave, and each 
had fought in the belief that his cause was just. To 
the victor belonged, not the spoils, not the power to 
punish and oppress, but to set to work to close the 
breach between the North and the South and to heal a 
nation’s wounds. The long debated right of secession 
had been settled by an appeal to arms. Henceforward, 
the Union must be maintained and the destiny of a 
great united country worked out. The principles of 
our Government, the rights of an enslaved race, and 
the verdict of civilization were all against the “Lost 
Cause.” 

The war cost about seven hundred thousand lives, 
nearly equally divided between the North and South. 
The cost in money to the Union alone more than 
doubled the value of all the slaves, while the loss to 
the South in money and property was probably still 
greater. 

Assassination of Lincoln.— Five days after the surren¬ 
der of Lee’s army, while bonfires were still being 
lighted throughout the North in celebration of the vic¬ 
tory, the country was suddenly plunged into gloom 

bv the assassination of President Lincoln. The deed 

•/ 

of blood and madness was done by John Wilkes Booth, 
a hate-crazed sympathizer of the Confederacy. 
Though the South was guiltless of the deed, it deep¬ 
ened the hatred of the North against her. Lincoln 
was a great and just man, and already he was planning 
for the peaceable settlement of the troubles, even in 


296 


KENTUCKY 


opposition to the bitter partisans of the North. The 
dead President’s victorious dream-sliip of the Union 
had indeed come into port amidst the rejoicing of the 
people, but the Captain lay dead upon the deck. 1 

The Emancipation Proclamation did not free the 
slaves in Kentucky and other States which had not 
seceded, but the Thirteenth Amendment, passed in 
1865, did. The Fourteenth Amendment (1868) made 
the negro a citizen, and the Fifteenth Amendment, 
passed in 1870, made him a voter. Kentucky opposed 
all these amendments. 

Martial Law and Politics. —Our State furnished about 
seventy-five thousand soldiers to the Union service and 
about one-third as many to the Confederacy. Whether 
they fought for the blue or the gray, they won praise 
for courage and valor. When the war was over, those 
who survived returned to their homes and set about 
the arts of peace. In December, 1865, the Legislature 
repealed all laws enacted against treason and restored 
civil rights to all Confederate citizens. With few ex¬ 
ceptions, the Kentuckians now forgot their differences 
and gave the hand of welcome to the returning heroes 
of both armies. Hhd martial law been suspended, and 
the people been permitted to conduct their own affairs 
through civil officers and courts, much of the ill feel¬ 
ing that followed the war would have been avoided. 
Kentucky had been loyal to the Union and there was 
not now, if there had ever been, any excuse for mar- 

1 Before his death President Lincoln dreamed a ship came into port 
bringing news of victory. He also dreamed that he had died. His 
poet-friend, Walt Whitman, tells about the circumstance, in his poem, 
“O Captain! My Captain. ” Probably the poet was thinking of the 
Union as the Ship of State. 



RECONSTRUCTION 


297 


tial law. But partisan war officers remained in the 
saddle and by their authority, much of it self-imposed, 
many things were done to disturb the people in their 
civil rights. This strain put upon them caused many 
of the Radical element, now known as the Republican 
party, to turn to the Democratic party. So it came 
about that a part of the Conservative Union people, 
Confederate soldiers, and many who had suffered from 
the evils of military rule, turned to the Democratic 
party. In 1867 the Democratic ticket led by John L. 
Helm for Governor and John W. Stevenson for Lieu¬ 
tenant Governor was elected by a large majority. All 
the other officers of the Democratic ticket were likewise 
elected. The overwhelming victory was a rebuke to 
the Radical element and to military interference with 
civil' rule. These things led to a united Democratic 
party which has remained in almost continuous power 
in the State to this day. Some of the Conservative 
Union leaders who went with the Republicans were C. 
F. Burnham, John M. Harlan, James Speed and Wil¬ 
liam H. Wadsworth, who were patriots and men of 
high honor and service in their State. 

The Freedmen’s Bureau.— Five days after his election, 
Governor Helm died and Lieutenant Governor Ste¬ 
venson became acting Governor, and was re-elected the 
following August. The people of Kentucky now 
wanted peace and the right to resume their duties as 
peaceable citizens under civil laws, but much ill tem¬ 
per was provoked by the actions of the agents of the 
Freedmen’s Bureau whose object was to protect the 
rights of the negro as a freeman. Its activities were 
probably necessary in the seceded States, but in Ken- 


298 


KENTUCKY 


tucky, which had not seceded, the acts of the Bureau 
were duly declared unconstitutional. However, these 
things maddened the people and turned many loyal 
Union men to the Democratic party and retarded a 
better feeling toward the negro. 

Ku Klux Klan.— Another evil plant that grew out of 
the war-torn soil of the South was the Ku Klux Klan. 
It consisted of bands of hooded men who took the law, 
as all mobs do, into their own hands and attempted 


to frighten or punish un- 



/0\ 1 ■Mn 1 tt v\ rv rwfw» r\ A n r» v» w» -» v\ 1 A 



Klan. 


The spooky, hooded garb 


worn by the night-prowling bands struck terror to the 
superstitious blacks. Its uncanny warnings against 
all who opposed it made it impossible to get witnesses 
to testify against its members; so, for a time, it defied 
the civil laws of the State. It is true, that many crim¬ 
inal wretches were held in check by fear of a visit from 
the Ku Klux, but the unlawful and brutal acts often 
committed by it finally brought its own undoing. The 
people grew weary of it, and maddened by its mis¬ 
deeds, speedily crushed it. In short, the sentiment of 
the people righted itself, and by 1873, the Ku Klux 
Klan was added to the past horrors of the war period. 
Many such organizations which sprung from the war 
period were short lived. 






RECONSTRUCTION 


299 


Behavior of the Slaves. —The strength of the South in 
maintaining her heroic tight against overwhelming 
odds lay largely in the splendid behavior of the slaves 
during the absence of nearly all their white masters. 
These faithful servants went about their masters’ 
business, peaceably plowing, sowing and reaping for 
the helpless families of those who were away fighting 
to keep them in bondage. At no time was there any 
danger of an uprising of the negroes, but on the con¬ 
trary they faithfully cared for and protected the 
women and children who might easily have become 
their helpless victims. The beauty and strength of 
their devotion scarcely has its equal in history. The 
freeing of the slaves changed labor conditions which 
required time to adjust. In his new role as a freeman 
the negro was restless and uncertain of his course, and 
time was required for him to find his proper relations 
to changed conditions. He owned but little property 
and was still a servant, but a hireling. Many of the 
older ones were employed by their former masters and 
gave a faithful service, but the younger class felt the 
thrill of their novel condition and roved about the 
country and lounged about the towns to “ enjoy their 
freedom.” The necessity for the negro to labor, and 
of his former master to employ him soon brought about 
a better understanding between them. The negro 
had become a citizen and voter and his education be¬ 
came important. He paid hut little taxes, so the bur¬ 
den of his education fell upon the white man; for this, 
reason many opposed negro schools. In time, how¬ 
ever, all came to see the necessity of his education, 
and free schools were provided for negro children. 


300 


KENTUCKY 


Out of the chaos following the war, time brought forth 
the present order, which, though imperfect, seems to 
be the best answer to a difficult problem. 

In the election of 1871, the negro freemen of Ken¬ 
tucky cast their first votes. Governor Stevenson hav¬ 
ing been elected to the United States Senate, was 



Lincoln Cabin Enclosed in the Memorial Building 

at Hodgenville 

/ 


succeeded by Preston H. Leslie, Lieutenant Governor. 
In the August election he was opposed by John M. Har¬ 
lan, a distinguished Republican veteran. The Demo¬ 
cratic nominees were Governor Leslie for re-election 
and John G. Carlisle for Lieutenant Governor. Al¬ 
though the Republican vote was increased by negro 
suffrage, the Democrats were elected by a large ma¬ 
jority. The State now settled down to the longed-for 
years of peace and progress. 







RECONSTRUCTION 


301 


QUESTIONS AND SUGGESTIONS. 

Describe the final movements and the fall of the Confederate armies. 
Question for class debate: Resolved that Robert E. Lee was a greater 
military chieftain than U. S. Grant. What terms of surrender were 
made to the Confederate armies? Give an account of the assassination 
of Lincoln. 



Unfinished Monument to Jefferson Davis at Fairview 

“The Union of Lakes—the Union of lands 
The Union of States none can sever. 

The Union of hearts, the Union of hands 
And the flag of our Union forever.’’ 








CHAPTEK XLIII 

POLITICAL AFFAIRS 

After the Civil War a state of social and financial 
unrest existed throughout the country. In 1873, fol¬ 
lowing a period of prosperity and wild speculation, 
came a financial crash. Fortunately, Kentucky was in 
a prosperous condition, and while there were many 
financial losses, the State suffered less than most of 
the other States of the Union. 

Geological Surveys.—Beneath the soil of Kentucky 
lay inexhaustible supplies of coal, oil, and other min¬ 
erals, the extent of which was little known at this time. 
A survey was begun in 1854, by Dr. David D. Owen, 
and continued for five years. Much valuable infor¬ 
mation concerning the great mineral wealth of the 
State was obtained by this survey, but its work so 
well begun was interrupted by the tumult of the Civil 
War. In 1873 the General Assembly ordered the Gov¬ 
ernor to appoint a geologist and assistants to ex¬ 
amine the geological formations of the State, and to 
report on the “deposits of ore, coal, clays and such 
other mineral substances as may be useful and valu¬ 
able. ” Governor Leslie appointed Nathan S. Shaler, 
a Kentuckian, who was then a teacher of geology in 
c U \ e s t ^ y as chief geologist. Large sums 
of money were appropriated by the Legislature to 

carry on the work. Through the industry and scholar- 

302 


POLITICAL AFFAIRS 


303 



A 


Group of Governors 


J. C. W. Beckham. 


Augustus Willson. 
William O. Bradley. 


William Goebel. 
A. O. Stanley. 

























304 


KENTUCKY 


ship of Professor Shaler the hidden wealth of the 
State was discovered and mapped, and the greater in¬ 
dustrial development of the State was stimulated by 
his reports. 

Elections.— In 1875 the Democrats elected James 
B. McCreary for Governor and the Legislature chose 
James B. Beck and General John S. Williams United 
States Senators. In the next election the Democrats 
won again. Dr. Luke P. Blackburn was elected Gov¬ 
ernor in 1879, and gave to the State a wise administra¬ 
tion. Through his efforts the crowded conditions of 
the State Prisons were relieved, and the sufferings of 
the convicts lessened. The Governor pardoned many 
of the most deserving prisoners in order to relieve 
the crowded condition of the prisons. Following his 
action a special commission pardoned a hundred more, 
and with the aid of the Governor adopted many penal 
reforms. 

In 1883, J. Proctor Knott was elected Governor and 
James B. Beck was returned to the United States 
Senate. At the same time J. C. S. Blackburn was 
elected to succeed Senator Williams. Under the wise 
administration of Governor Knott a State Board of 
Equalization was appointed which raised and 
equalized the tax assessments and relieved the State of 
a great financial deficit. In the State election of 1887, 
the Democratic party continued in power by electing 
General Simon B. Buckner, Governor. 

Adopting the New Constitution.— The State Constitu¬ 
tion which had been adopted in 1850 protected slavery 
and contained provisions that now conflicted with the 
Federal Constitution. The people knew these things, 


POLITICAL AFFAIRS 


305 


but many stubbornly resisted any changes, hence the 
old constitution remained out of date for many years. 
The method of revising the constitution had been made 
very difficult, and many meetings were held throughout 
the State and resolutions of the General Assembly 
were passed before final action was taken to secure a 
constitutional convention to frame a new instrument. 
After much agitation a new Constitution was adopted 
in 1891. The old Constitution was greatly changed 
and the new one was made almost twice as long. “Its 
chief fault lay in the fact that its members tried to 
legislate for all time.” 1 It prohibited special laws 
for the benefit of any person or business, made lot¬ 
teries illegal, provided for a “secret official ballot,” 
limited the sessions of the Legislature to sixty days, 
provided for an easier method of changing the Con¬ 
stitution, and prohibited the making of more than two 
amendments at one time. It further provided that 
State officers shall not hold the same office for two 
continuous terms. However faithful and excellent an 
official may be, he cannot be re-elected to succeed him¬ 
self. Many objected to this and other provisions of 
the new Constitution and amendments have been made. 

In 1891, the Democrats elected John Young Brown 
Governor. The old question of the permanent location 
of the State capitol came up the first year of Gov¬ 
ernor Brown’s administration. Many objections to 
the location of the capitol at Frankfort had been made 
from time to time. A joint committee of both houses 
of the Legislature was appointed to choose the site for 
a new State House. The committee selected Frank- 

1 Kerr, “History of Kentucky,” Vol. II, p. 1005. 




306 


KENTUCKY 


fort as the permanent site. During the years of 1905- 
1909 one of the most handsome capitol buildings in 
America was erected on a beautiful site on the left 
bank of the Kentucky River at Frankfort. 

The Free Silver Campaign.— A widespread money 
panic again swept the country, and methods of meeting 

it entered into heated state 
and national campaigns in 
1896. Opinions of able 
statesmen in the same 
parties were divided, and 
many voters refused to 
support the ticket of their 
own party. The chief issue 
was the free coinage of sil¬ 
ver and gold at a ratio of 
16 to l. 1 The people were 
in financial distress and 
there was great political 
excitement. John G. Car¬ 
lisle of Kentucky, who was 
President Cleveland’s Secretary of the Treasury, 
made speeches in the State against bimetalism and 
advocated a gold standard. The political parties in 
Kentucky were greatly divided on the issue. The 

1 That is, 1 ounce of gold in value should equal, when coined, 16 ounces 
of silver. At this time the ratio was about 1 to 28 and the silver dollar 
was worth only 56$ in gold. The free silver men said if silver and gold 
should be coined free at a ratio of 16 to 1, it would fix the value of both 
metals and make money more plentiful. This, however, would have made 
a ‘ ‘ double standard ’ , of value to which the 1 ‘ sound money ’ ’ men ob¬ 
jected. The sound money advocates believed that such a policy was an 
effort to create value by law instead of permitting the commercial 
demands for the two metals to control the value of each. 



John G. Carlisle 





POLITICAL AFFAIRS 


307 


question caused a split in the Democratic ranks. 
P. W. Hardin was the free silver candidate of the 
Democratic party, and William 0. Bradley the sound 
money candidate of the Republican party for Governor. 
The entire Republican ticket was elected and the State 
passed for the first time under the rule of this party. 
In the Presidential election the regular Democratic or¬ 
ganization supported William Jennings Bryan, the 
free silver candidate for the Presidency, against Wil¬ 
liam McKinley, the Republican sound money candi¬ 
date. The sound money Democrats, under the name of 
National Democrats, nominated John M. Palmer and 
Simon B. Buckner on a separate ticket. The campaign 
was a hard fought and bitter one. Labor and capital, 
the poor man and the rich man, were pitted against 
each other in an exciting contest. The returns of 
the election showed a victory for McKinley in the 
State and in the Nation. So it again happened that the 
conservative voter of Kentucky refused to be led by 
passion and prejudice to follow his party against his 
judgment. The same year an exciting contest arose in 
the Legislature over the election of a United States 
Senator. After a long deadlock between J. C. S. 
Blackburn, Democrat, and W. Godfrey Hunter, Re¬ 
publican, W. J. Deboe, a Republican, was elected. 
However, in 1900 Blackburn was elected Senator to 
succeed William J. Lindsay. Six years later Black¬ 
burn was succeeded by Thomas H. Paynter. Ex-Gov¬ 
ernor McCreary, a Democrat, succeeded W. J. Deboe 
in the Senate in 1902. 

Tollgate Raiders.— During Governor Bradley’s ad¬ 
ministration beginning in 1896, a certain element of 


308 


KENTUCKY 


people who always fret at restraint, broke out against 
the tollgates on public roads. Many of the turnpikes 
of the State had been built by chartered companies who 
were allowed to collect toll to pay for them and keep 
them up. This lawless element issued warnings to the 
tollgate keepers to collect no more tolls. When these 
warnings were not heeded the gates and toll-keepers’ 
houses were raided and destroyed. Notwithstanding 
the efforts of the Governor and other officers of the 
State the lawlessness went on. To settle these troubles 
the State, which owned a part of the turnpike stock, 
finally purchased the shares of the stockholders at 
greatly reduced values and made the roads free. 

The “Goebel Election Law.” —In 1898, State Senator 
William Goebel secured the passage of an election law 
which provided that the Legislature should appoint 
three election commissioners for the State, and that 
these commissioners in turn should appoint election 
boards for each county. This act, which was passed 
over Governor Bradley’s veto, became known as the 
“Goebel Election Law.” It aroused the bitter op¬ 
position of the Republicans as well as that of many 
Democrats. It was manifestly wrong, for it gave un¬ 
due power to the party in office. 

In 1899, in spite of opposition, Goebel was nominated 
for Governor and J. C. W. Beckham for Lieutenant 
Governor. Again the Democratic party split and the 
“Honest-election Democratic Party” nominated John 
Young Brown for Governor. The Republicans nomi¬ 
nated William S. Taylor. Another bitter political 
fight followed. Charges of fraud, intimidation and 
illegality were made on both sides. When the votes 


POLITICAL AFFAIRS 


309 


were counted Taylor was declared elected, but the 
Democrats had carried both branches of the Legis¬ 
lature by large majorities. The election of the Re¬ 
publican candidates was contested before the Demo¬ 
cratic Legislature. It was generally believed that in 
the contest Goebel would be declared elected. 

The Assassination of Goebel. —On January 25, 1900, 
over five hundred mountain men met in Frankfort for 
the announced purpose of petitioning for a just settle¬ 
ment. These men were armed, and some considered 
their conduct as an act of war. The situation became 
tense and dangerous. January 30, Goebel was shot on 
the capitol grounds by some one concealed in the of¬ 
fice of the Secretary of State, and died three days 
later. In the meantime, the Legislature had declared 
Goebel and Beckham elected Governor and Lieutenant 
Governor. Before dying, Goebel was sworn into of¬ 
fice, and on the day of his death he was succeeded by 
Lieutenant Governor Beckham. The capital was now 
bristling with armed men and state militia, and a single 
shot or blow might have led to a bloody conflict. For¬ 
tunately the situation was so grave that it sobered 
men and made both sides cautious, and thus a greater 
disgrace to the fair name of Kentucky was avoided. 

The State now had two sets of officials, each en¬ 
deavoring to carry on the government, but each acting 
a comedy that all the while threatened to become a 
tragedy. The contest was carried to the State Court 
of Appeals and decided in favor of the Democrats; 
then to the United States Supreme Court, which 
rightly refused to interfere with the State government. 
The Republicans now submitted. Some were arrested 


310 


KENTUCKY 


and imprisoned for the assassination of Goebel. Tay¬ 
lor fled to Indiana to prevent arrest, and the Governor 
of that State refused to give him up to the Kentucky 
officials. The bitterness of the time caused many 
quarrels, severed many life-long friendships and 
deepened partisan hatred. The affair brought upon 
the name of Kentucky a widespread and just condem¬ 
nation. It would be unfair to censure one party more 
than the other, hut it is just to charge it all to design¬ 
ing, unscrupulous, and unpatriotic politicians of both 
parties. A just opinion of the affair is summed up by 
William Lindsay as follows: “In the estimation of the 
great mass of the people, neither side can defend or 
excuse its methods or escape its share of responsibility 
for the deplorable conditions brought about by the 
embittered and protracted controversy.’’ William 
Goebel was a brave and able man but a bitter partisan. 
The manner of his death is a dark blot on the page 
of Kentucky history. He had done much to stay 
the power of some mighty corporations and to defend 
the rights of the people. May the wrongs and the 
party hatred of that unhappy time never be repeated. 


QUESTIONS AND SUGGESTIONS. 

Give an account of the surveys made of the resources of Kentucky. 
What reforms were carried out by Governor Blackburn? Give an 
account of the adoption of the new Constitution in 1891. What changes 
were made in it? What stand did Kentucky take in the free silver 
campaign of 1896? Who were the “Toll Gate Raiders”? What was 
the “Goebel Election Law”? Tell about the assassination of William 
Goebel. 


CHAPTER XLIV 

CIVIL AFFAIRS 

Lieutenant Governor Beckham, who had succeeded 
to the unexpired term of William Goebel, was elected 
Governor in 1900, and again in 1903. One of the acts 
of his first administration was to call a special session 
of the Legislature to repeal the Goebel Election Law 
which had been such a great disturber of the peace. In 
its place a fair and non-partisan election law was 
passed. 

The Night Riders. —In 1904 the price of tobacco 
dropped below the cost to produce it. The growers 
organized the Planters’ Protective Association to 
pool their tobacco and compel the “tobacco trust” 
to pay better prices. Many planters refused to join 
the Association; “night riders,” who favored the As¬ 
sociation, attempted to force them to join, or not to 
raise tobacco. Again lawlessness got into the saddle, 
and armed night-riding bands visited the farms of the 
growers who refused to join the Association, destroyed 
their young plants and other property, and sometimes 
whipped the owners. The trusts took sides with the 
independent growers but this only increased the rage 
of the members of the Association. The night riders 
now sought vengeance against the trusts by destroy¬ 
ing their property. Factories and warehouses were 

burned or dynamited at Trenton, Princeton and Elk- 

311 


312 


KENTUCKY 


ton. A year later a mob took possession of Hopkins¬ 
ville and burned three factories. Thus again a kind 
of Ku-Klux disorder reigned in a part of Kentucky. 
It was a mad and unlawful protest against wrong, 
but it succeeded in doing much to correct the crimes 
of the tobacco trust against the growers. By 1907, 
most of the tobacco was pooled by the Association, 
and the price went up to fifteen cents a pound. It 
is easy to see that the outbreaks of the tobacco growers 
were violent protests caused by the wrongs committed 
against them. Wrong though it was, many violated 
the law when they believed their rights and liberties 
were threatened. But mobs, night riders and Ku Klux 
Klans have no place in a civil government where 
people, in a lawful way, may obtain their rights by 
banding together as citizens instead of as criminals. 

State and National Elections. —In all the Presidential 
elections from 1900 to 1912, Kentucky voted for the 

7 v 

Democratic candidates, but in 1907, led by Augustus 
E. Willson for Governor, and W. H. Cox for Lieu¬ 
tenant Governor, the Republicans elected their State 
ticket. Tobacco troubles and night-riding crimes con¬ 
tinued in the early part of Governor Willson’s admin¬ 
istration. The Governor called upon the Legislature 
to pass laws to put down these crimes; he also placed 
Calloway County under martial law. He called upon 
the law-abiding citizens to “take strong, prompt and 
effective measures to punish every cowardly scoundrel 
who rides the road to threaten his neighbors.” After 
a time, many of the offenders were arrested and some 
were found guilty and punished. By 1909, these 


CIVIL AFFAIRS 313 

troubles were settled and the tobacco growers became 
prosperous and happy. 

In 1911, James B. McCreary and Edward J. Mc¬ 
Dermott, Democratic nominees, defeated Judge E. C. 
O’Rear and L. L. Bristow, the Republican candidates, 
for Governor and Lieutenant Governor respectively. 
The Legislature elected Ollie M. James, Democrat 
Representative in Congress, to succeed Thomas H. 
Paynter in the United States Senate. 

Temperance Campaign.— For many years a campaign 
against intemperance, and the manufacture and sale of 
intoxicating liquors had 
been going on. The people 
were alarmed at the in¬ 
crease of drunkenness and 
crime, and the meddling of 
the saloon and whiskey in¬ 
terests <in politics. The dis¬ 
tillation of whiskey in the 
State rose from 403,000 
gallons in 1868 to 30,386,- 
000 gallons in 1882, and 
was rapidly increasing 
when the prohibition move¬ 
ment began. The whiskey 
people were alarmed at the 
growing sentiment against 
their business and fought 
long to save it, but lost. 

Laws were passed in 1912 permitting counties to vote 
as a unit to prohibit the sale of intoxicating liquors 
within their borders. A law was also passed prohibit- 






314 


KENTUCKY 


ing the shipment of liquors into “dry” counties except 
upon the prescription of a physician. As the senti¬ 
ment against the blighting traffic increased, other laws 
were passed against it, until it had no legal protection 
in the State. The downfall of the liquor business was 
largely due to a State law brought about by the efforts 
of the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union requir¬ 
ing the teaching of temperance in the public schools of 
the State. Another act passed by the Legislature at 
this time gave to women who could read and write, and 
who possessed the qualifications required of male 
voters, the right to vote in school elections, and hold 
office. The right of suffrage for women, like the tem¬ 
perance question, had been growing in favor for many 
years and this act of the Legislature was only the be¬ 
ginning of the full rights of suffrage that women 
enjoy today. 

Primary Election Law.— Another act passed* by the 
Legislature in 1912 shows the wish of the people to 
enjoy complete political rights. Until this time dele¬ 
gates to conventions chose the nominees of their 
parties. A Primary Election Law was passed re¬ 
quiring both political parties to select their nominees 
for office at the same time, and at the expense of the 
State. An act passed in 1920, now permits party 
candidates to be chosen by conventions. In May, 
1914, Senator William 0. Bradley having died, Gov¬ 
ernor McCreary appointed Johnson N. Camden, Demo¬ 
crat, to fill the temporary vacancy. An amendment 
to the United States Constitution, made in 1913, 
now required Senators to be elected by the people. 
In the November election, 1914, ex-Governor Beck- 


CIVIL AFFAIRS 


315 


ham, the Democratic candidate for the United States 
Senate, who was an ardent advocate of prohibition, 
defeated the Republican candidate, ex-Govemor 
Willson. In this election only two Republicans won 
in the congressional elections—John W. Langley 
and Caleb Powers. Powers had been imprisoned for 
the assassination of Goebel, but his friends of the 
Eleventh District, who believed in his innocence, 
rallied about him and sent him to Congress. In the 
November election of 1915, A. 0. Stanley and James 
D. Black, Democratic candidates for Governor and 
Lieutenant Governor, respectively, defeated Edwin P. 
Morrow and Lewis L. Walker, the Republican 
nominees. 

Development of Agriculture.— The pages of Kentucky 
history are filled with the doings of statesmen, soldiers 
and politicians, but the citizen who toils faithfully at 
his post is the foundation of the State’s power and 
prosperity. The greatest wealth of Kentucky is in its 
soil, and the most important citizen is the good man 
wlio intelligently tills it. The pioneer farmer was 
greedy for land but thought nothing of preserving its 
beauty and fertility. “Wild land” was abundant, and 
when his “clearing” lost its fertility and produced 
poor crops he “sold out and moved West.” This land 
destroying habit went on for a century before the 
people realized the crime that was being committed 
against those who were to come after them. Thou¬ 
sands of “old fields,” gully-washed and briar-grown, 
may be seen in every part of the State. The early 
Kentuckian looked upon our continent as boundless 
and inexhaustible and wasted its riches with a prodigal 


316 


KENTUCKY 


hand. He did not realize that he held his land in trust 
for those who were to follow him. When the tide of 
emigration reached the Pacific shores and began to 
roll back upon the run-over lands of our continent, 
the people realized the ruin that had been wrought, 
and turned their attention to saving and improving 
the fertility of the soil. This new condition was the 
beginning of a new agricultural era. The modern 
farmer now sees the mistakes of his ancestor, and is 



Tractor-drawn Gang Plow An Old Wooden Plow 


striving to restore the beauty and fertility of the soil 
that have been lost. This situation has called science 
to its aid, and successful farming today is the big job 
of intelligent men. It is true that some of the earlier 
farmers had visions of the coming need and strove to 
save the beauty and fertility of the land. As early as 
1865 the State Agricultural and Mechanical College 
was established to carry on, in part, the work of soil 
and crop improvement. Many appropriations were 
made from time to time by the Legislature for the 
benefit of the State Agricultural Society. More 










CIVIL AFFAIRS 


317 


recently an Agricultural Experiment Station was es¬ 
tablished at Lexington and, with its extension depart¬ 
ments, is doing much toward improving soil fertility 
and crop production. It is reaching out into every 
part of the State and teaching the farmers more scien¬ 
tific methods of agriculture. Under modern conditions 
farmers realize that it pays to use intelligence in farm¬ 
ing. No longer is farming regarded as an ignorant 
man’s job. The names of R. A. Alexander, Abe Renick, 
Benjamin Vanmeter, M. 0. Hughes, and the Warfields 
are prominent in the State for the intelligent work 
they have done in agriculture and stock raising. Rev. 
E. McCollum, the pioneer orchardist of Henderson, 
has rendered an important service to the State in 
developing the scientific and profitable growing of 
fruit. More of the present prosperity of Kentucky 
is due to men who have stayed on the farm and worked 
patiently and intelligently to produce better crops and 
improve rural conditions than to any other class. 

A campaign for the education of the farmer in the 
use of fertilizers, forage crops, cover crops, growing 
of legumes, drainage and all other means of soil im¬ 
provement has been going on for some time. The 
farmer has learned that many birds, toads, and other 
insect destroying creatures are his friends and he is 
demanding their protection. In every part of the 
State, Farm Agents who are graduates of agricultural 
colleges, are teaching the farmers the science of suc¬ 
cessful farming. Improved implements for plowing, 
planting, cultivating and harvesting crops are lessen¬ 
ing the toil and increasing the income of the farmer. 
A new day in agriculture has dawned; the crude, 


318 KENTUCKY 

plodding and wasteful methods of pioneer days are 
gone. 

Farm Organizations.— The Farm Bureau, Farmers ’ 
Union, and similar societies are composed of farmers 
who ard working for the improvement in farm con¬ 
ditions. The great State Fair that is now maintained, 
is a milestone in the agricultural progress of the Com¬ 
monwealth. With more intelligent farming have come 
more intelligent methods of selling farm products. A 
number of co-operative marketing organizations, 
tobacco pools, and other agencies for realizing just 
values for crops are being conducted. The value of 
all farm crops in Kentucky in 1919 was $347,338,888.00, 
or nearly three times as much as in 1909. This in¬ 
crease is due largely to improved methods of farming. 
Kentucky leads all other States in the production of 
tobacco, producing nearly one-third of all that is 
grown in the United States. It leads in the production 
of blue grass seed and ranks second in the production 
of sorghum. More thoroughbred race horses are 
raised in Kentucky than in all the other States of the 
Union put together. Much of the drudgery in the home 
and on the farm has been overcome by the use of 
modern inventions. Many farm homes now have all 
the comforts and conveniences of those of the cities. 
With the coming of rural free delivery, better schools, 
better roads and automobiles, and better living condi¬ 
tions, the scientific tiller of the soil enters upon a 
life more pleasant for himself and more useful to the 
State. 


EDUCATION AND RESOURCES 319 

QUESTIONS AND SUGGESTIONS. 

For what purpose did Governor Beckham call a special session of 
the Legislature? Give an account of the “Night Riders.” What 
efforts did Governor Willson make to put down night riding? Tell 
about the temperance movement. What was the Primary Election 
Law? Give an account of the development of agriculture in the State. 
What was the object of the farm organizations? 


CHAPTER XLY 

/ 

EDUCATIONAL PROGRESS AND RESOURCES 

OF KENTUCKY 

The spirit of personal liberty has always been the 
ruling motive of the Kentuckian. His motto in fight¬ 
ing the Indians was ‘ 4 Every man to his man, and every 
man to his tree. ’’ This same self-reliant spirit caused 
him to push into the wilderness and erect his cabin 
far from the protection of the settlements. When the 
time came to educate his children he preferred to fight 
ignorance according to his own method. He did not 
realize the need of education for every citizen in a 
government by the people, nor the strength that lay in 
a group working together for the same purpose. After 
a time, however, he came to see that a community could 
do more working together than each working sep¬ 
arately ; so, district schools were organized. These re¬ 
ceived but little aid from the State and were poorly 
attended, but they were a step toward a still larger 
and better plan for carrying on the work of education. 

In 1891 the new Constitution gave the General As¬ 
sembly the power to “provide an efficient system of 
common schools throughout the State”; but the Legis- 


320 


KENTUCKY 


lature did not levy a tax for their general support until 
thirteen year£ afterwards. A law passed by the Legis¬ 
lature in 1893 provided for the establishment of public 
schools and the levying of local taxes to support them. 
Some districts voted taxes but many did not; so, in 
1908 the Legislature passed a law requiring all dis¬ 
tricts to establish schools and to vote local taxes for 
their support. Thus a change was made from a 
voluntary to a compulsory system of schools. The 



A Log School House and Modern Consolidated County 

School Building 


State now had the power to compel every district in 
every county to support a public school, but each dis¬ 
trict elected its own trustees to manage it. By an Act 
of the Legislature in 1920 the county was made the 
school unit, not including the independent city dis¬ 
tricts, and the schools were put under a County Board 
elected by the voters. Many of the people still clung 
to their ideas of home rule for each district, conse¬ 
quently, they opposed the County Unit law. 

Under the present laws, the State Board of Educa¬ 
tion requires a common school for each district, at 
least one high school for each county, fixes the salaries 






EDUCATION AND RESOURCES 321 

and qualifications of the teachers, decides the kind of 
school houses that may be built, and has control of the 
state school fund. It prescribes the course of study 
and general rules and regulations for the government 
of all public schools. The State Board of Education 
is composed of the Superintendent of Public Instruc¬ 
tion, the Attorney General and the Secretary of State. 
These officials are members of the Board of Education 
by the right of the offices to which they are elected. 
As recommended by the State Educational Survey 
Commission in 1921, there should be a non-partisan 
State Board of Education, appointed or elected, to 
conduct, under proper laws, a better system of schools 
for Kentucky. 

The prosperity of a people and the safety of a Re¬ 
public depend on an educated citizenship. Every child 
in the cities and rural districts alike should have an 
equal opportunity for education. This can be provided 
only by an efficient State system of schools. Com¬ 
pulsory school attendance laws are now in force and 
thousands of children of uneducated or indifferent 
parents are attending school who otherwise would 
grow up in ignorance and crime. An educational re¬ 
vival has been sweeping the State since 1908, and rapid 
progress has been made. This educational awakening 
decreased the illiteracy of the State nearly four per¬ 
cent from 1910 to 1920. But Kentucky was tardy in 
founding a good school system and still lags behind 

manv other states. 

%/ 

From the beginning the people of Kentucky have 
been interested in education. To meet the require¬ 
ments many small colleges were established, but they 


322 


KENTUCKY 


did not completely answer the popular needs. These 
schools, however, often had some of the most scholarly 
teachers in America, under whose instruction was de¬ 
veloped many of the leading men of our State. 
Georgetown College, Bethel at Russellville, Center 
at Danville, Central College at Richmond and the great 
Catholic schools at Bardstown did a noble work but 
they could not reach and educate the masses of the 
people. Berea College in Madison County has been 
giving to the mountain people excellent industrial and 
college training for many years. Besides these, there 
were many colleges for girls, and small private schools 
throughout the State. It was fortunate for Kentucky 
that these schools existed at a time when the State was 
without an efficient public school system. The Uni¬ 
versity of Kentucky at Lexington is supported by the 
State and is the head of the public school system. 
Under the leadership of able men it has done much for 
higher education, but it has suffered for lack of funds 
to carry forward a complete university program. 
Recent laws, however, are giving relief to the Uni¬ 
versity of Kentucky and its educational usefulness is 
rapidly increasing. Dr. James K. Patterson was 
President of Kentucky Agricultural and Mechanical 
College, now University of Kentucky, for forty-one 
years—the longest time in point of service ever given 
by a president to an American college. Such was the 
devotion of this great teacher, that at a time when the 
college was in need of funds for buildings, he pledged 
all his savings to secure the money. 

Normal Schools.— To supply the increasing demand 
for better trained teachers the Legislature passed an 


EDUCATION AND RESOURCES 


323 


act in 1906 establishing two Normal Schools, one at 
Richmond and the other at Bowling Green. The great 
. popularity of these schools is shown by the thousands 
of young teachers who are attending them. By an 
act of the Legislature in 1922 two more Normal 
Schools were ordered to be established. 

Kentucky has shaken off the educational lethargy 
of a hundred years and a new era of enlightenment 
dawns. While the State has been tardy in educational 
development, it has never deserved the unjust 
criticisms and misrepresentations that have been 
heaped upon it by critics of other states. Under the 
splendid leadership of its able educators it will soon 
occupy second place to no other state. Superintendent 
George Colvin, the present head of the State’s school 
system, says ‘Ghat probably no state in the whole 
Union has made more marked improvement in educa¬ 
tional matters than has Kentucky in the immediate 
past.” 

Cost of Education Compared. —It may be interesting 
to compare a few items of cost in their relation to 
education. The total expenditure for public educa¬ 
tion in Kentucky in 1919 was $8,117,074.00. To the 
reader this may seem an enormous sum, yet more than 
this amount was spent in the State for jewelry; twice 
as much for face powder, cosmetics and perfumes; and 
over three times as much for cigars and cigarettes. 1 
But the relative cost of war and the cost of education 
is a still more instructive lesson to the thoughtful stu¬ 
dent. During the high tide of the World War the 

1 Claxton, U. S. Commissioner of Education, in the Civic Journal, 
April, 1921. 


324 


KENTUCKY 


money cost alone to the United States was about 
twenty-four million dollars a day, or an amount suf¬ 
ficient to erect a schoolhouse in every county in Ken-. 
tucky, every hour, at a cost of $8,333.00 each. The cost 
of one big 16-inch port gun will erect a schoolhouse 
in every county in Kentucky at a cost of $4,160.00 each. 
A small percent of the extravagance of peace and the 
waste of war would give a college education to every 
normal person in America. 

Mining Industries.— It will be found that the develop¬ 
ment of mind and the development of the resources of 
a country go hand-in-hand. The reader should not 
wonder, therefore, that while Kentucky has been back¬ 
ward in supporting a great system of public schools 
many material resources have likewise remained 
undeveloped. It is not strange that along with the 
educational revival has come the recent development of 
the wealth of the State. Within the mountain walls of 
eastern Kentucky lay inexhaustible deposits of coal, 
oil, clays and ores, that, until recently, had been 
scarcely touched. During the last ten years the min¬ 
ing industry of this section has gone forward with a 
bound. Numerous towns have sprung up, railroads 
and turnpikes have been built and the whole mountain 
region has awakened from its long slumber. The 
wealth of the mountain section now threatens to rival 
that of any other part of the State. Capitalists who 
are developing this region own most of the coal lands, 
towns and hotels, and control the merchandise trade. 
They are building paved streets, sewers, electric light 
plants, and liberally supporting public schools. Writ¬ 
ing of these mountain towns in 1922, Mr. Armentrout 


EDUCATION AND RESOURCES 325 

says, “These quaint, well lighted, well drained, well 
governed cities, set down in the heart of the wilderness, 
have brought a new day to the mountains.” Many 
aliens are now pouring into this industrial section and 
the population is rapidly increasing. New blood, new 
enterprises, better ways of living, good schools and 



many other adjuncts of progress are rapidly changing 
the mountain region into a new order of civil life. 
With this development have come new problems—the 
assessment of just taxes on this hidden wealth, the 
education of the increasing population, and the Amer¬ 
icanization of the alien miners. The mountain barriers 
are breaking down and the interests of the mountain 
section socially, politically and economically are being 
joined with those of every other section of the com¬ 
monwealth. The mountain inhabitants have caught a 










326 


KENTUCKY 


new vision and a new spirit, and when the dormant 
talent of these hardy, strong-minded people is once 
aroused there will be a new day in a New Kentucky. 

Oil was discovered by a Mr. Beatty while drilling a 
well for salt water in McCreary County in 1819. It 
was first called rock oil and was sold as a cure-all for 
the diseases of animals and man. A steady and 
profitable production of petroleum did not begin in 
Kentucky until 1916, but since that time there has 
been a rapid development of the industry in widely 
separated parts of the State. The value of the 
products of oil and gas in Kentucky in 1919 was over 
twenty-three million dollars, that of coal over seventy- 
two millions. Kentucky ranks thirty-sixth in size 
among the States and fifteenth in population, but it 
ranks tenth in mineral products. It stands fifth in 
the production of soft coal, and second in the produc¬ 
tion of asphalt and fluor spar. Besides these, it has 
vast quantities of building stone, clays and useful 
minerals. But all the fertility of soil, all the wealth of 
agriculture, all the oil, coal, clay, and stone need the 
quickening touch of the trained hand and educated 
mind to bring Kentucky to the front in material pros¬ 
perity. “With hammer and transit, instead of flint- 
lock rifles, explorers are still discovering Kentucky .’ 91 


QUESTIONS AND SUGGESTIONS. 

Account for the delay of Kentucky in founding a good public school 
system. What laws were enacted that improved the schools of the 
State? What effect have good public schools upon the prosperity of 
a State? To what extent did private schools and colleges supply the 

1 Armentrout, “An Inventory of Kentucky.” 


WAR, WASTE AND PROGRESS 327 

needs of education? Compare the cost of education and war. Tell 
about the mineral resources of Kentucky. Why was the development 
of the resources of the State delayed so long? 


CHAPTER XLVI 

WAR, WASTE AND PROGRESS 

Ik 1914, the most bloody and destructive war ever 
known broke out in Europe and before its close every 
great nation of the earth wab drawn into it. The 
people of America opposed the war and for more than 
two years they bore many insults and injuries from 
Germany. In vain the United States urged peace 
and justice. In vain she endeavored to remain neutral, 
but the wicked acts of Germany in sinking many Amer¬ 
ican vessels, and the drowning of thousands of in¬ 
nocent men, women and children called forth a decla¬ 
ration of war April 6, 1917. All the wealth and man 
power of the nation was speedily organized to assist 
the allies who were now fighting with their backs to 
the wall to save civil liberty from a world-wide 
despotism. Nearly five million men were enlisted in 
the different branches of the service by the close of 
the war in 1919. Although Kentucky is situated near 
the center of our great country, although three thou¬ 
sand miles of sea separates America from Europe, 
the blight of the terrible conflict fell upon the State. 
Nearly one hundred thousand of the fittest young men 

of Kentuckv enlisted in the war. Three thousand 

%/ 

gave up their lives, and four thousand were wounded 


328 


KENTUCKY 


in battle. Many have returned to civil life with shat¬ 
tered ideals and broken in health. True to her tra¬ 
ditions of the rights of man, Kentucky entered loyally 
into every activity of the war, and “work or fight’’ 
became the law and the slogan of the State. Every 
war drive for troops, the buying of government bonds, 
raising Red Cross funds, furnishing food for the 
hungry allies, and every thrift campaign for economy 
of food and money “went over the top.” 

Besides the loss of 256,000 Americans killed or 
wounded in battle, over 57,000 died of diseases. Be¬ 
sides enormous sums loaned to the Allies, the money 
cost alone of the war for twenty-five months amounted 
to about twenty-two billions of dollars. Greater still is 
the loss that has come from economic confusion, crime, 
political revolution, and the loss of the noble ideals 
of civil life. The enormous money cost of the war to 
the United States was twenty-two times as much as the 
Nation spent for public education in 1920. Pensions 
of soldiers and interest on the enormous war debt have 
fixed a heavy tax-burden upon the people for many 
years to come. This burden of debt and taxes has 
been laid upon the shoulders of the innocent by a ruth¬ 
less violator of the rights of man who drove a peace- 
loving people into a bloody struggle “to make the 
world safe for democracy.” Passion, and the rage of 
ambition have failed to learn that the victories of 
peace are cheaper, as well as greater, than the victories 
of war. 

Roads. 1 — It is pleasant to turn from the destructive 

1 Acknowledgment is due Mr. E. G. Dent of Bowling Green for 
valuable information on Kentucky roads. 


WAR, WASTE AND PROGRESS 329 

forces of war to the constructive work of peace and 
to compare some of the costs of each. Let us consider 
first the development of good roads, which are the 
highways of progress and the gateways of traffic and 
travel between civilized lands. Savages, whose chief 
business is war, have only blind trails through forests 
and across plains. These are sufficient for the needs 
of their wild life, but buffalo trails and warrior paths 
do not answer thq needs of civilized men. The early 
settler was scarcely established in his cabin before he 
turned his attention to the opening and improving of 
roads and the navigation of the streams. One of the 
acts of the first legislature in 1792 provided for the 
opening of new roads. It appointed commissioners 
and provided for county taxes and subscriptions to 
carry on the work. Another act was passed in 1794 to 
establish a road from Madison Court House to Hazel 
Patch, to be paid for out of the State Treasury. Thus 
Kentucky began the construction of roads as a state 
project at an early date. In 1830, Henry Clay secured 
the passage of an act by Congress for establishing 
interstate highways by Federal aid. This act was 
vetoed by President Jackson, but the measure at¬ 
tracted national attention and laid the foundation for 
future internal improvements. Many roads were 
built in the State between 1850 and 1860. About this 
time, the counties began building highways, and the 
State abandoned its road building program until the 
coming of the automobile made the construction of in¬ 
terstate roads a state and national necessity. The 
railroads that were built at this time likewise partially 
supplied the need for highways, and stopped the oper- 


330 


KENTUCKY 


ation of many of the picturesque stagecoach lines that 
threaded the State. In 1912, the State organized a 
Department of Public Roads to direct and advise in 
their construction. Two years later the Legislature 
provided for a state road fund to aid in the building of 
highways connecting county seats. Robert C. Terrell 
was appointed Road Commissioner, and the United 
States Department of Public Roads appointed E. H. 
Barber, of Frankfort, to assist in organizing the De¬ 
partment for its new work. Surveys and plans for 
uniform road building were made. In 1915 and 1916 
work began on all roads surveyed. By 1916 twenty- 
eight counties had voted, under the Acts of the Legis¬ 
lature of 1914, for a total of $5,755,000.00 in road 
bonds. From 1915 to 1917 the working of convicts on 
public roads was tried but it proved unsatisfactory 
and was abandoned. An act of the Legislature passed 
in 1917, authorized any county to vote a tax of twenty 
cents on each $100.00 of assessed valuation of prop¬ 
erty, to construct roads and bridges. Up to the pres¬ 
ent time thirty five counties have voted taxes under 
this law. The disturbing effect of the World War 
hindered the improvement of roads for several years, 
but in 1920 the Legislature passed an important road 
measure. It created a non-partisan State Highway 
Commission and gave to it authority to direct the im¬ 
proving and building of State Roads. The law made 
the State Highway Engineer the executive officer of 
the Commission. The income for state road building 
for 1923 is nearly $8,000,000.00 and under the leader¬ 
ship of the present engineer, Joseph S. Boggs, the 
Highway Commission is setting about the building 


331 


WAR, WASTE AND PROGRESS 

of an extensive system of state highways. The sum 
now available for the building of public roads is larger 
than for any previous time, but it is too small to give 
to Kentucky as great a system of roads as the needs of 
the State require. The Congress of 1916 made avail¬ 
able Federal funds to aid in the bjiilding of rural post 
roads and thus the dream of Henry Clay is gradually 
coming true. The cost of the World War to the United 
States would build 2,185,000 miles of turnpike at a 
cost of $10,000.00 per mile. This is equal to 728 great 
highways across the United States from the Atlantic 
to the Pacific. Kentucky’s part of the war debt would 
pay her present annual road bills for over forty years 
—such is the high cost of war and the low cost of civil 
progress. War destroys; peace builds good roads, 
good schools and happy homes. 

River Highways.—Rivers are the natural highways of 
any country and they perform an important part in 
the settlement and development of a new land. Ken¬ 
tuckians were interested from the beginning in the 
navigation of western streams. As early as 1793 the 
Legislature passed laws for clearing and opening to 
navigation some of the Kentucky streams. In 1801, 
The Kentucky River Company was chartered for the 
purpose of improving the navigation of any river in 
the State. Many laws were passed and appropriations 
were made from time to time to improve river naviga¬ 
tion. Finally the Federal Government gave aid, and 
in the end took over the entire control of all navigable 
streams. Before the coming of railroads and turn¬ 
pikes, the rivers of the State became the chief 
thoroughfares of trade and travel. Many prosperous 



332 


KENTUCKY 


river towns sprang up, and a thriving river business 
was carried on. The demand for more rapid transpor¬ 
tation and the building of numerous railroads have 
greatly reduced river traffic, and the busy and prof¬ 
itable days of steamboating, for the time, have passed. 
Probably the present high cost of railway operations, 
the increase in mining and manufactured products, 
and the improvement in methods of navigation will 
bring back the prosperous river business of former 
days. Including that part of the Ohio River bordering 
on Kentucky, the State has about 1,500 miles of 
navigable streams that offer free highways for the 
shipment of heavy freight to all parts of the Missis¬ 
sippi Valley and to the ports of the sea. 

Manufacturing.—The great natural resources in coal, 
oil, timber, clays and ores furnish the basis for many 
manufacturing industries. The soil and climate of 
Kentucky favor the production of live stock, wool, 
hemp, grain, fruits and vegetables that furnish the 
raw products for numerous mills, packing houses and 
canning factories. All these resources await the quick¬ 
ening touch of capital and skilled labor to give the 
State an important place in commerce and manufactur¬ 
ing industries. The total value of the' manufactured 
products of the State in 1919 was $395,660,417.00, 
showing a gain in five years of nearly 72 per cent. 
This gain, however, is due to the higher prices of man¬ 
ufactured articles as well as to the increased produc¬ 
tion of factories. Located near the territorial center 
of the United States, rich in soil and abounding in min¬ 
erals and timber, the State ought to become one of 
the most thriving parts of the Union. 


WAR, WASTE AND PROGRESS 333 

Forests and Timber.—The great wilderness of Ken¬ 
tucky was a source of wonder to the early settlers. 
But the wasteful destruction of the splendid forests 
that has gone on for over a century has been a source 
of much loss to the State. The soil and climate of 
Kentucky favor the growth of tine timber. Much of 
the area of the State is unsuited to agricultural pur¬ 
poses, but under a good system of forestry it would 
yield a rich reward of wealth and landscape beauty. 
All the forest lands are privately owned, except one 
small State Reservation in Harlan County. ‘‘For 
many years Kentucky has been one of the chief pro¬ 
ducers of hardwood timber, and in 1919 it ranked 
sixth among the States in the production of these 
woods.’’ 1 From 1909 to 1917 the production of timber 
fell off 60 per cent, and year by year the output de¬ 
creases. Trees preserve the hilly soils, produce a 
wealth of timber, modify the climate and add beauty 
to the landscape. It is to be regretted that the State 
has failed to sustain an efficient system of forestry. 
The Legislature of 1920 even took a backward step 
by combining the office of the Commissioner of 
Forestry with that of Agriculture, and abolishing the 
office of Assistant Forester. Under the skilful man¬ 
agement of a Department of Forestry, properly 
financed and equipped, Kentucky would produce an 
abundance of fine hardwood timber. The past cen¬ 
tury of reckless waste of this great source of wealth 
and beauty should teach every Kentuckian the need 
to preserve what remains and to plant and cherish 
trees. 

1 U. S. Census Report of 1920. 


334 


KENTUCKY 


QUESTIONS AND SUGGESTIONS. 

Give an account of the part that Kentucky had in the World War. 
How much did it cost our Government? Compare the cost of war 
and the arts of peace. Give an account of the development of roads 
in the State. Give a history of the river highways. Why has manu¬ 
facturing been retarded in Kentucky? What has become of the won¬ 
derful forests that once covered the State? In what way has Ken¬ 
tucky failed to preserve her timber resources? 


CHAPTER XLYII 

POLITICS, PROBLEMS AND POPULATION 

In 1919 Edwin P. Morrow and Thruston Ballard, 
Republican candidates for Governor and Lieutenant 

Governor, respectively, 
were elected over the Dem¬ 
ocratic ticket led by James 
D. Black. In 1920, Richard 
P. Ernst, Republican, de¬ 
feated J. C. W. Beckham 
for the LTnited States Sen¬ 
ate, but the State went dem¬ 
ocratic in the presidential 
election. During the ad¬ 
ministration of Governor 
Morrow a number of im¬ 
portant changes were made 
in the affairs of the State. 
The Legislature of 1920, 
passed an act placing the 
prisons and charitable institutions under a bi-partisan 
Board of Control. Under this act the evils of petty 
politics have been removed from the management of 



Governor Edwin P. Morrow 




POLITICS, PROBLEMS AND. POPULATION 335 

these institutions. This change has also resulted in 
a better management of the institutions and a more 
humane treatment of the inmates. Medical inspection, 
the treatment of diseased bodies and minds, more 
sanitary quarters and better food and clothing have 
relieved these unfortunate beings and added a ray of 
hope and sunshine to their darkened lives. Important 
road measures and educational bills were likewise 
passed. Under these laws a better system of roads 
and schools may now be rapidly developed. The 
Legislature of 1922 passed a Co-operative Marketing 
Law which provided for the legal formation of com¬ 
panies and associations of producers to market the 
products of the State. The use of this law is to se¬ 
cure to the producer a better reward for the products 
of his labor through selling agencies under his control. 

Civil Disturbances.—Recent mob violence at Lexing¬ 
ton and labor troubles at Newport and Corbin were 
suppressed by the heroic efforts of the Governor and 
the State troops under his command. At Newport the 
soldiers destroyed many stills, hundreds of barrels of 
illicit liquor, and much gambling equipment, all of 
which had been largely the cause of the disturbance. 

Many important problems present themselves to the 
State at this time. Better roads, better schools, 
economy in government and greater industrial de¬ 
velopment are every-day topics of the people. For 
many years, Kentucky has been the victim of political 
factions and petty politics, but the people are weary 
of such folly and are demanding more business and 
less political dishonesty in the government of the 
State. The platform pledges of all parties have been 



336 


KENTUCKY 


full of fine promises, but the deeds of each administra¬ 
tion have been disappointing. The vengeful eyes of 
the voter are upon the professional politician and the 
hired lobbyist who haunt the state legislative halls and 
executive offices seeking political favors or the pro¬ 
tection of some big business at the cost of the tax¬ 
payer. The people are demanding a “ business ad¬ 
ministration” to pull them out of political tangles and 
to introduce better business methods into the manage¬ 
ment of state affairs. Year by year new conditions 
arise and new departments of government are created 
to meet them. Education, public health, charities, 
crime, industries and their numerous departments 
must be conducted to meet growing social and business 
needs. Modern advancement has made modern gov¬ 
ernment a bigger and more difficult problem than ever 
before. Kentucky, today, needs big, intelligent, 
patriotic leaders more than all things else. 

Population.—The population of Kentucky in 1920 
was 2,416,630 which represented an increase of 5 y 2 
per cent in ten years. There are more people in 
Chicago than in the entire State of Kentucky, and over 
twice as many in the city of New York. Several west¬ 
ern states, settled after Kentucky, now surpass her 
in population. The interested reader may wonder 
why this has occurred. It should be remembered that 
Kentucky was settled by a pioneering people, many 
of whom swept on with the westward movement. Like 
the tide of the Ohio that merely touches the Kentucky 
shores, the tide of immigration has moved on. A 
study of the census will show that from 20 to 25 per 
cent of native born Kentuckians were living at the end 


POLITICS, PROBLEMS AND POPULATION 337 

of each decade in other states, and that an exceedingly 
small per cent of the population were born outside of 
Kentucky. 

Kentuckians as Leaders.—It has been said in preced¬ 
ing pages that Kentuckians are an aggressive, strong- 
minded people, the type which colonizes new countries, 
builds cities and establishes new states. It is this type 
that furnishes the leaders in all great enterprises. 

Kentucky’s scattered sons have become leaders in 

•/ 

many states, especially of the West. By 1920, fifty- 
five native Kentuckians had been elected governors of 
other states. It has furnished fo Missouri alone ten 
governors, to Illinois seven, and to all other states 
thirty-eight. Besides these, fifty of her adopted sons 
have likewise become the chief executives of other com¬ 
monwealths. Many of the Congressmen and Senators 
from other states also have been native Ken¬ 
tuckians.. Both of the present United States Senators 
from the State and all of the Representatives except 
one are native Kentuckians. Besides these, there are 
now three native Kentuckians in the Senate and three 
in the House of Representatives from other states. 
Had this strong tide of human power remained to in¬ 
crease its population and develop its resources, the 
story of Kentucky’s progress would have been dif¬ 
ferent. It should be remembered, also, that the Ken¬ 
tucky settlers belonged to a rural, land-loving class 
that was not given to the founding of cities and es¬ 
tablishing of commercial and manufacturing enter¬ 
prises which produce great wealth and invite popula- 
tion. Even at the present time, 74_per cent of the pop¬ 
ulation lives in rural communities. 



338 


“Ashland.” The Home of Henry Clay 









POLITICS, PROBLEMS AND POPULATION 339 

Some Great Families.—Mention has been made of 
many noted families that have given distinction to 
Kentucky. It is doubtful if any commonwealth in the 
Union, in proportion to population, can show as many 
long lines of distinguished men. 1 Doubtless there have 
been just as many distin¬ 
guished women, but Ken¬ 
tucky chivalry has chosen 
to adore its fair women in¬ 
stead of honoring them 
with the opportunity of 
leadership. Old traditions, 
however, have broken 
down and among our great 
leaders of today are found 
many women. The blood 
of three of the most distin¬ 
guished families, the Mc¬ 
Dowells, Clays and Harts, 
blended to make one of 
Kentucky’s greatest wom¬ 
en, Mrs. Madeline McDowell Breckinridge. Though 
delicate in body, Mrs. Breckinridge was brilliant and 
heroic in mind. She became a national leader in the 
cause of woman suffrage. In 1896 she ably assisted 
her husband’s distinguished father, W. C. P. Breck¬ 
inridge, in his sound money campaign. In oratory she 
had the charm and power of her great ancestor, Henry 
Clay; in her devotion to the good of humanity she dis- 

1 The Breckinridges, McDowells, Clarks, Johnstons, Lewises, Caldwells 
and many other prominent families noted in the history of Kentucky 
were of Scotch-Irish stock. 






340 


KENTUCKY 


played all the noble impulses of the McDowells. Her 
efforts were largely devoted to the care and education 
of poor children and to the prevention and cure of 
tuberculosis. When she died in 1920, resolutions of 
sorrow were passed by leagues, clubs, boards of educa¬ 
tion and many other organizations throughout 
America. The niche she fills in history honors her an¬ 
cestors and those of her distinguished husband. In life 
she loved herself last; in death she was mourned by all. 
It has been largely through the noble efforts of great 
Kentucky women that the blight of intemperance has 
been removed and many reforms have been brought 
about. Ellen Semple, Fannie Macaulay (Frances 
Little) and Alice Hegan Rice, all Kentucky women, 
have become well-known writers. 

The State has produced many men who have become 
authors and journalists. Among these are James Lane 
Allen, Henry T. Stanton, Theodore O’Hara, Cale 
Young Rice, John Fox, Jr., Madison Cawein, George 
D. Prentice, Irvin S. Cobb and Henry Watterson. As 
a journalist, prior to the Civil War, Prentice was with¬ 
out a peer in America, besides he was gifted as a poet. 
Following the war the Louisville Courier and Journal 
were united and Henry Watterson became the editor in 
chief. Until his death in 1921, Watterson was the 
outstanding figure in Kentucky Journalism. His edi¬ 
torials were quoted by newspapers throughout the 
world, and he was recognized as the greatest editor in 
America. 

Irvin S. Cobb is one of the outstanding figures in 
American journalism at the present time, as well as a 
writer and lecturer of renown. As an eminent pub- 



POLITICS, PROBLEMS AND POPULATION 341 

licist both before and after America’s entry into the 
Great War, he gave out much of the information 
on European governments and the armies at the front, 
but, above all, he is perhaps our greatest living 
humorist, and his numerous works of fiction, partic¬ 
ularly his short stories, enjoy an international repu¬ 
tation. 


Henry Watterson, * Irvin S. Cobb, 

Kentucky’s Greatest Journalist Kentucky’s Greatest Humorist 

Under the right development of the strong-minded 
people of Kentucky the record of the future men and 
women of the State should not be less brilliant than 
those of the past. 

Unrest.—At present, a state of confusion and great 
unrest exists throughout the world which seems to be 
rushing forward as if bent upon its own destruction. 
What is to come out of the present tangle of things, 




342 


KENTUCKY 


and the part Kentucky is to play in the drama, remains 
to be recorded by some future historian. Great leaders 
who can blaze new trails through the present wilder¬ 
ness of doubt are most needed. Probably these leaders 
will come, as they have always come in times of great 
emergencies, and Kentucky and the world will swing 
into the broad light of a new and better day. 


QUESTIONS AND SUGGESTIONS. 

What was the result of the election of 1919? What important acts 
of the Legislature were passed in 1920? What civil disturbances oc¬ 
curred during Governor Morrow’s administration ? What are some of 
the problems that confront the people? Why has the growth of 
population been retarded? Show how Kentuckians have become leaders 
in other states? Name some of the families which have furnished 
many great leaders. What can you say of Kentucky’s great women? 
Name some of Kentucky’s distinguished writers. In what ways do 
you think the past history of the State will differ from that of the 
future? 


THEN AND NOW 


CHAPTER XLVIII 

A REVIEW OF ONE HUNDRED AND FORTY-EIGHT 

YEARS 

One hundred and thirty-one years have passed since 
Kentucky entered the Union, and one hundred and 
forty-eight years since its settlement began. During 
this span of time Kentucky had a heroic share in the 
setting up of a mighty Republic on a new continent. 
Here in America, Freedom has set to the oppressed 
of all the earth a shining example of the rights of man. 
Through the conflicts of ideas between right and 
wrong, through the battle strife of six wars, our State 
and our Union have come. From the beginning of our 
country, Liberty has steadily borne aloft her torch, 
and by its shining rays has shown our leaders and the 
people the true road to peace and progress. 

It is well to close our story of Kentucky by noting 
the changes that have come about since its settlement 
one hundred and forty-eight years ago. How different, 
how strangely different, then and now! Within this 
time endless savage-haunted forests have given place 
to cleared stretches of fertile lands, dotted with cities 
and towns; rude log huts, to splendid residences and 
marble mansions; winding trails, to broad macada¬ 
mized roads and steel railways; pack-horses and ox- 

343 


344 


KENTUCKY 


carts, to electric cars, automobiles and all manner of 
wheeled vehicles. No more is seen the bark canoe and 
the slow-moving flatboats, but in their stead the 
numerous waterways are covered with swift-flying 
launches and steamboats, carrying on the busy traffic 
and travel of a new day. From the noiseless dip of 
the Indian’s paddle, from the dream of poor John 
Fitch a hundred years before, have come the splash of 
flying wheels and the echoing signals of steamboat 
whistles down the valleys of every Kentucky river. 
No more from these busy shores fly the deer, elk, and 
buffalo, for they too are gone, but in their stead herds 
of fine cattle, sheep and horses graze on meadow and 
hill. In place of the lonely blue line of smoke from the 
settler’s cabin rise dense clouds of a thousand smokes 
from great factories and cities. There are no more 
mountain and ocean barriers. Once months passed 
between messages from foreign lands; now submarine 
cables and wireless radios flash the news of the world 
to every nation in an instant of time. The sails of 
slow-going ocean vessels have been replaced by great 
steamships, and swift-flying aeroplanes now dot the 
skies and cross the seas. 

The pioneer kept his trusty rifle near him while he 
plowed the newly-cleared field with a rude wooden 
plow, but the whistling boy a hundred and forty-eight 
years later rides a steel gang-plow and turns the self¬ 
same soil ten times faster and as many times better. 
Now one machine harvests the grain faster than a 
thousand pioneer sickles, and a steam mill turns it 
into fine flour faster than ten thousand hand mills of 
those border days. 



Carriers One Hundred Years Ago and Now 

345 























346 


KENTUCKY 


“ From the scene hath gone the settler— 

Gone the forest from the hills— 

Gone the forts beside the river— 

Gone the ancient water mills. 

Cattle graze where once the wigwam 
Curled aloft its wreaths of smoke, 

* 

Steamboat whistles now awaken 
Echoes which the oars awoke. 

• •••••* 

He is gone—the hardy settler, 

Gone the humming spinning wheel, 

With its mellow plaintive music, 

As the flax sang on the reel. ’ ’ 1 

Gone are the old log taverns, and in their places rise 
palatial hotels; gone are the ill-smelling stores tilled 
with pelts of animals and coarse merchandise, and in 
their stead rise towering department stores that ex¬ 
change for currency and gold the products of every 
land. 

The manner of living, mode of dress, habits and 
customs, all have changed to a new order. With 
the rude cabins have gone the rude furniture, rude 
pots and kettles for cooking a few coarse foods around 
the wide hearthstones; in their places are burnished 
ranges upon which are prepared an endless variety of 
wholesome foods and delicacies from every climate of 
the earth. Wooden and pewter tableware has given 
place to china and silver; bare boards to mahogany 
tables dressed with the finest linens. The apparel 
of a century ago—the deer-skin hunting shirt and 
leggings, the coarse linsey-woolsey, cut to curious 

'“The Kentucky Pioneers,” C. E. Blevins. 


THEN AND NOW 347 

shapes and patterns are now but the curios of by¬ 
gone days. 

Not less wonderful are the changes that have come 
about in the social, moral, and religious conduct of 
the people. A simple rustic life of hardships and rude 
joys has given place to one of many dazzling pleasures 
of the senses. Old standards of conduct have passed, 
and new and more artificial ones have been set up. 
Even the simple sports of that early day have changed 
to those of a complex and scientific kind. Bloody fistic 
combats, ‘ i gouging , 1 91 dueling, and other brutal cus¬ 
toms have come under the ban of the law and of 
society. In their places, too often, the hot word is 
followed by a blow, or the flash of a weapon, and prob¬ 
ably a tragedy. 

The old private school, the log schoolhouse, the 
pioneer teacher, the brief course of study, and old 
school methods likewise have vanished, and a good 
system of public schools for all the children of all the 
people has taken their places. Manuscript arithme¬ 
tics, hymn books, a few school books, and various kinds 
of printed matter that made up their texts for study 
have been replaced by beautifully illustrated and well 
graded text-books for every child. Then a few chil¬ 
dren dressed in homespun sat upon rough-hewn 
puncheon slabs about a wide, stone fireplace, while 
cold winds shivered through open chinks in log walls; 
now they rest in model, hygienic seats, row by row, 
in great steam-heated buildings of brick and stone. 
Then only rude elementary courses of study were pro- 

1 Persons fighting sometimes endeavored to gouge out each other’s 
eyes. 


348 


KENTUCKY 


vided; now free high schools and university courses 
are open to all. Then magazines and newspapers 
were rare and expensive; now great steam presses 
are turning out a flood of books and periodicals that 
can be had for a few pennies. Instead of the slow- 
going post that at long intervals brought meager news 
to the pioneer settlements, many swift-flying trains 
now reach almost hourly every town and city in the 
State, and the rural postman’s whistle may be heard 
on every country road. 

The pioneer circuit riders, those “ Cavaliers of the 
cross,” who blew their gospel trumpets far out on the 
border, laid the religious foundation of the State. 
They were full of the spirit of the Master and many 
of them were able educators and eloquent divines. 
They gathered their flocks in the shadows of the groves 
or beneath brush arbors and delivered sermons filled 
with gospel fervor. But they, too, are gone. In their 
places a century later others stand and preach to 
larger congregations in fine churches and cathedrals. 
Once the untrained voices of the backwoods people 
joined in the solemn hymns and cried “amens” to 
long prayers; now deep-toned organs and paid choirs 
render music for waiting throngs. The culture of 
science, art, and literature has invaded the church, 
and the form of religion has changed. Much has 
been gained; how much has been lost in the religious 
movements of the century, must be left for the 
thoughtful reader to say. Religion is the experi¬ 
ence of the inner lives of the people that shows itself 
in their conduct, and in their institutions. Judged by 
this standard, spiritual progress has been made. 


THEN AND NOW 


349 


Within a century homes for the orphan, the poor, the 
aged, and the unfortunate have been founded; hos¬ 
pitals for the sick and asylums for the insane have 
been established; schools of reform have taken the 
place of dungeons for the youthful criminal. These 
institutions have come in response to the wish of the 
people and are supported and controlled by the State. 
Working hand-in-hand with the churches are numer¬ 
ous kindred organizations, such as the Young Men’s 
Christian Association, the Knights of Columbus, The 
Woman’s Christian Temperance Union, and numerous 
benevolent societies. Leagues and clubs of various 
kinds, and numerous other groups are working for 
the physical and moral good of themselves and of 
society. Religion is a civilizing and refining power, 
and no state is strong that is weak in the Spirit of 
worship and the universal brotherhood of man. 

The political ideals during these years, for the most 
part, remained unchanged. The great principles of 
liberty, and the rights of man are still dear to the 
heart of every Kentuckian. How to apply these prin¬ 
ciples in justice to all and do violence to none some¬ 
times becomes a difficult problem in government. In 
a closely organized society where there are so many 
institutions for the public good, personal liberty and 
private rights must sometimes yield to the general 
welfare of the State. In our Government every per¬ 
son is a part of the State; therefore, the good of one 
is the good of all. For this reason, parents are now 
required to educate their children, all persons are for¬ 
bidden to brew and possess intoxicating beverages, or 
to hunt and fish without restraint. These and many 


350 


KENTUCKY 


other laws under which we now live were unknown to 
early Kentuckians. New inventions, new discoveries, 
large cities, crowded population, and new industries 
have called for new laws to regulate society and pro¬ 
tect the people. Thus the few simple rules of pioneer 
days have been changed into many confusing and com¬ 
plex laws of the present time. Such is the penalty the 
individual must pay to a highly civilized life. There 
is but little to restrain the wild life of the savage—he 
is the freeman—but not so with the citizen of a civil¬ 
ized State where the rights and welfare of all are 
bound together for the common good. 

We who enjoy the comforts of modern life, who sit 
in an easy chair and read the story of the Kentucky 
pioneers by a light as bright as a sunbeam, little dream 
of the pale flame of their dim grease lamps, and the 
crude and harsh surroundings they endured. The ex¬ 
plorer and pathfinder came first to map the unknown 
land and to blaze trails for the settler who was soon 
to follow. Clad in the garb of the backwoodsman, 
with the rifle to procure his food and drive back the 
savage, and the ax to hew down the forest and build 
his log cabin, the settler laid the foundation of all our 
modern life, its joys and comforts. Amid the stress 
of war with the savages and a foreign foe, the pioneers 
built their rustic homes and fortresses, cleared the 
land, tilled the soil, and carved a great state out of the 
wilderness. The rude forest warfare is over, and 
the dull crack of the flint-lock rifle and the war whoop 
of the savage are heard no more; now the agents of 
human destruction dash through the air, dive beneath 
the sea, or send tons of death-dealing projectiles 



THEN AND NOW 


351 


against steel ships and fortresses twenty miles away. 
Through the trials of many wars, through political 
hopes and fears, through the changing scenes of many 
years Kentucky never lost sight of her great motto: 
“United We Stand, Divided We Fall.” Oh the hopes, 
the joys, the fears and the work of it all! We who 
enjoy the heritage left us by the founders and builders 
of Kentucky should bear the torch aloft and “ carry 
on” as it becomes the descendants of a race of heroes. 


CHAPTER XLIX 

THE CONSTITUTION OF KENTUCKY 


(Note to the Teacher) 

The Kentucky Constitution is a very lengthy, legal instrument and 
difficult to understand. For this reason it is believed that it is more 
practical to devote a chapter to explaining the most important features 
of it than to quote the entire Constitution without comment. As nearly 
as possible, the exact language of the Constitution is used in explaining 
it. This chapter may be omitted, or studied in connection with civil 
government, as the teacher may deem best. For convenience, the topics 
have been treated in the order of their arrangement in the Constitution. 

History of the Constitution 

Kentucky has had four constitutions. The first was adopted in 1792, 
the second in 1799, the third in 1850, and the fourth, which is now 
in force, was adopted in 1891. The general principles of government 
in these several constitutions have remained the same, but new T condi¬ 
tions arising from time to time have made many changes necessary. 
The Constitution is the fundamental law of the State which attempts 
to safeguard the rights of its citizens, and to prevent any sudden 
and unwise enactment of laws by the General Assembly. The framers 
of the Constitution in their zeal to safeguard the rights of the people 
have made it very difficult to amend or revise it, and it can be 
changed only by a vote of the legislature and the people. (See topic 
near the end of this chapter.) 

The Preamble 

The preamble sets forth the general purpose of the Constitution as 
follows: 

We, the people of the Commonwealth of Kentucky, grateful to 
Almighty God for civil, political, and religious liberties we enjoy, and 
invoking the continuance of these blessings, do ordain and establish 
this Constitution. 

Bill of Rights 

The Constitution, like that of the United States, provides for a 
Bill of Rights, and three departments of government, the Legislative, 

352 


353 


THE CONSTITUTION 

Executive and the Judicial. 1 The bill of rights sets forth the prin¬ 
ciples that all men are politically free and equal and that they have 
the right to enjoy and defend their lives and liberties^ to worship 
God according to their own ideas, to seek safety and happiness, to 
express their opinions in public and private, to be protected in ac¬ 
quiring and holding of property, and to assemble in a peaceable man¬ 
ner to make known their wishes by petition, address, or remonstrance. 
It also protects them in their right to bear arms in a lawful way, 
and makes them secure in their personal liberty and freedom. 

No special rights shall be granted, and no property shall be free 
from taxes except as provided by the Constitution. No preference 
shall be shown to any religious sect or order or interference in any 
mode of worship, nor does any person’s religious belief or non-belief 
affect his political rights. The bill of rights guarantees free elec¬ 
tions, freedom of speech and freedom of the press. However, any 
person may be brought to trial for slander or libel, and may be punished 
if found guilty. Every person is secure in person and property from 
seizure except in a legal manner, and in all cases of criminal prosecu¬ 
tions the accused has a right to a fair and speedy trial by jury. No 
person shall, when found guilty or innocent, be twice tried for the same 
offense, and all courts shall be open to every person to secure his lawful 
right. 

All prisoners shall be bailable except for capital offenses, and the 
writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended unless in time of re¬ 
bellion or invasion when public safety may require it. Excessive bail, 
fines, and cruel punishments are not allowed. No law can be passed 
for the punishing of crimes after they have been committed, nor 
shall any law be passed that changes the obligations of contracts. No 
person shall be charged with treason or felony by the General As¬ 
sembly—these are crimes that shall be tried by the courts. 

The bill of rights further provides that no standing army in time 
of peace shall be maintained without the consent of the General As¬ 
sembly; that the military shall at all times be under the civil power; 
that no soldiers in time of peace shall be quartered in any house ex¬ 
cept with the consent of the owner, nor, in time of war, except in a 
manner provided by law. 

The General Assembly is not allowed to grant any title of nobility, 
for all persons are regarded as citizens who shall have equal political 
rights. 

Emigration from the State shall not be prohibited and slavery and 
compulsory servitude are forbidden except as a punishment for crime. 
No violation of the Constitution shall be allowed, and all lawsi con¬ 
trary to it shall be void. 

1 The first ten amendments made to the Federal Constitution are now 
regarded as a bill of rights. 


354 


KENTUCKY 


Departments of Government 

There are three departments of the state government and each of 
them is a separate body, none of which shall exercise any power be¬ 
longing to the other except as may be provided by the Constitution. 

The Legislative Department. —This department consists of a House 
of Representatives and a Senate which together is called the General 
Assembly. The representatives are elected for two years and the senators 
for four. Every two years one representative is elected from each 
representative district, and one senator from each of one half of the 
senatorial districts. A representative must be a citizen of Kentucky 
who has reached the age of twenty-four years, and who has resided in the 
State at least two years next preceding his election, and one year in the 
county or city from which he is chosen. A senator must be at least thirty 
years old, a resident of the State at least six years next preceding his 
election, and for one year a resident of the district from which he is 
chosen. 

The General Assembly is required to divide the State as nearly 
equal as possible in population, into thirty-eight senatorial districts, 
and into one hundred representative districts. It is further required 
to redistrict the State every ten years in such a manner as to keep the 
population as nearly equal as may be in each district. One hundred 
representatives and thirty-eight senators shall, at all times, com¬ 
pose the General Assembly. 

The Lieutenant Governor is president of the Senate, but the House 
of Representatives chooses its own speaker. The General Assembly con¬ 
venes every two years, on the first Monday of January. A majority 
of the members of each House constitutes a quorum to do business, 
but a minority may compel the attendance of the absent members. 

Each House shall judge of the qualifications of its members, deter¬ 
mine the rules of its proceedings, punish a member for misconduct, and 
by a two-thirds vote may expel him. Neither House shall adjourn 
for more than three days without the consent of the other. A session 
of the Legislature is limited to sixty days, not including holidays and 
Sundays, and the compensation for each member shall be five dollars 
a day and fifteen cents per mile for necessary travel in going to and 
returning from the session of the Assembly. The salaries of the mem¬ 
bers of the General Assembly may be changed by law, provided no 
changes shall take effect during the session at which it is made. 

Members of the General Assembly are not subject to arrest during 
a session of the Legislature except for treason, felony and a breach 
of the peace. No member is allowed to hold another civil office during 
his term of office as a legislator, nor to accept any office for a year 
thereafter that may have been created by the General Assembly of 
which he was a member. 


THE CONSTITUTION 


355 


To become a law, a bill must be reported by a committee, read on 
three different days in each House, and must receive the votes of at 
least two-fifths of the members elected to each House, and a majority 
of the members voting. But any bill to appropriate money or to 
create a debt must receive the votes of the majority of all the mem¬ 
bers elected to each House. All bills for the raising of revenue must 
originate in the House of Representatives. The Governor has the 
power to veto any bill. (See Executive Department, this chapter.) 

The General Assembly has the power to contract debts and to raise 
revenues for the State wffthin limitations prescribed by the Constitu¬ 
tion. Beyond these limitations it is necessary to submit the incurring 
of other debts to a vote of the people. No act, except general ap¬ 
propriation bills passed in cases of emergency, shall become a law 
until ninety days after the adjournment of the session at which 
it was passed. The reasons for the emergency must be set forth in 
the bill which will become a law as soon as it is signed by the Gov¬ 
ernor. All bills must be signed by the presiding officer of each House 
in open session, and by the Governor before they become laws: provided 
a bill may become a law if passed over the Governor’s veto. 

Local and Special Legislation .—The Constitution prohibits the Gen> 
eral Assembly from passing local or special acts, for all laws enacted 
must be for the common good of the people. The rules and practice 
of all courts, the obtaining of juries, the trials and punshments of 
criminals, the assessment of fines, and all other legal proceedings 
must be conducted under general laws in order to give to all the 
people of the State uniform legal rights. Laws governing individuals 
and corporations, towns, cities, highways, the protection of fish and 
game, the management of schools, and all other matters must not 
be made for the special interest of any, but for the general good of all. 

Impeachments .—The House of Representatives has the sole power 
of impeachment (to charge with an offense) but all charges brought 
by the House shall be tried by the Senate. It requires two-thirds of 
the senators present to convict. The Governor and all civil officers 
are liable to impeachment for any wrongdoing in office. If found 
guilty, such persons are removed from office and disqualified to hold 
any office of honor and trust under the State. Such persons may 
also be tried by law and punished if found guilty. 

The Executive Department. —The head of the executive department 
of the State is the Governor. He is elected for a term of four years 
and cannot succeed himself the four years following his term of office. 
He must be at least thirty years old and a resident of the State for 
at least six years next preceding his election. His salary is fixed by 
law. He is commander-in-chief of the army and navy of the State, 
except when they are called into the service of the United States. 
He has the power to fill vacancies until such vacancies are filled by 
elections or otherwise, to remit fines, commute sentences, grant re- 


356 


KENTUCKY 


prieves and pardons. He may require written information from officers 
concerning their respective offices and the condition and welfare of 
the State. He shall give to the General Assembly information con¬ 
cerning the affairs of the State and recommend the passage of such 
laws as he may deem best. He may call an extra session of the Legis¬ 
lature by proclamation, but to consider only those subjects for which 
it was called. 

A Lieutenant-Governor is chosen at the same time and in the same 
manner as the Governor, and must have the same qualifications. By 
virtue of his office, he is president of the Senate, and in case of the 
death, resignation or removal of the Governor he becomes his suc¬ 
cessor until another is duly elected and qualified. During the absence 
of the Governor from the State, or for any cause preventing him from 
discharging his duties, the Lieutenant-Governor becomes acting gov¬ 
ernor. If the Governor is placed on trial before the Senate, the Chief 
Justice of the Court of Appeals shall preside instead of the Lieutenant- 
Governor. The Senate shall elect a president pro tempore to act in 
the absence of the Lieutenant-Governor. 

Every bill passed by the General Assembly must be sent to the 
Grovernor for his approval. If he signs it, it becomes a law, if not, 
he must return it with his objections to its passage. The General 
Assembly may still pass the bill over the Governor’s veto by a vote 
of the majority of all the members elected to each house. If a bill 
is not returned by the Governor within ten days (Sundays and holi¬ 
days excepted) after it has been presented to him, it shall become 
a law. 

The treasurer, auditor, commissioners of agriculture, labor and sta¬ 
tistics, secretary of state, attorney general and superintendent of pub¬ 
lic instruction shall be elected by the people for a term of four years. 
Each of these shall be at least thirty years of age at the time of his 
election, and a resident of the State for at least two years next pre¬ 
ceding his election. None of these officers shall succeed himself the 
four years following the term of office to which he was elected. 

Officers for Districts and Counties .—The Commonwealth’s Attorney 
and the circuit court clerks are elected every six years. A county 
judge, county court clerk, county attorney, sheriff, jailer, coroner, sur¬ 
veyor, assessor, and county magistrates are elected every four years. 
These officers are elected by the people of the districts they serve and 
are subject to punishment for failing to perform their duties according 
to law. The compensation and duties of these officers are fixed by 
acts of the General Assembly. 

Tlie Judicial Department. —This branch of the state government 
consists of many courts which explain and interpret the Constitution 
and the laws of the State. The highest branch of the judiciary is 
the Court of Appeals which tries those cases that are appealed to it 
from the lower courts. The Court of Appeals holds all its sessions at 


V 


THE CONSTITUTION 357 

Frankfort, but like other departments of the government, it may 
meet in other places in case of war, insurrection or pestilence. The 
judges of the Court of Appeals are elected for eight years. At 
present, there are seven judges of the Court of Appeals. The Con¬ 
stitution provides there can never be less than five nor more than seven 
as may be determined by the General Assembly. 

The General Assembly shall divide the State into seven districts as 
nearly equal in population as possible, and shall redistrict the State 
every ten years if necessary. One judge is elected from each of these 
districts. A clerk of the Court of Appeals is elected every four 
years by the people and he shall be ineligible for reelection the fol¬ 
lowing term. As in all other departments of the state government the 
people are given a voice in the selection of the judicial officers. 

Circuit Courts .—The circuit courts are nearer the people. The Con¬ 
stitution provides for the holding of circuit courts in every county, 
but the General Assembly shall by law regulate their authority and 
change or modify their rights. It is the duty of the General Assembly 
to divide the State into a sufficient number of circuit court districts 
to carry into effect the provisions of the Constitution. Each circuit 
court district shall elect a circuit judge every six years. The judges of 
the Court of Appeals and the circuit court judges may be removed by 
the Governor upon the recommendation of a two-thirds vote of the 
General Assembly. 

At least three terms of circuit court shall be held in each county 
annually. The qualifications, duties, and penalties for misconduct in v 
office are fixed by the Constitution, and by acts of the General As¬ 
sembly. Circuit courts are organized and conducted so as to pro¬ 
vide for a sufficient number to meet all the demands of the people, 
and to guarantee to every person an opportunity to bring his griev¬ 
ances into court for a just settlement. Circuit court cases may be 
carried to the Court of Appeals for final settlement. Some minor cases 
cannot be appealed. 

Other Courts .—The Constitution further provides for a quarterly 
court, county court, magistrates court, police court and a fiscal court. 
The organization and duties of each of these shall be uniform through¬ 
out the State that all the people may have equal privileges under the 
same laws. Each county is divided into a number of magisterial dis¬ 
tricts and a justice or magistrate is elected in each district. 

The fiscal court consists of the county judge and the justices of 
the peace of that county. Or a county may have three commissioners 
elected from the county at large who with the county judge shall con¬ 
stitute the fiscal court of that county. The fiscal court has charge 
of the business and financial affairs of the county. 

Suffrage and Elections. —Every citizen in Kentucky who is twenty- 
one years of age is entitled to vote: provided any person who! has 
been convicted of treason, felony, bribery in an election, or of such 


358 


KENTUCKY 


misdemeanors as the General Assembly shall declare, shall be de¬ 
prived of the right to vote. The right of suffrage is a sacred privilege 
that should be enjoyed only by worthy citizens. Criminals who are 
in prison at the time of an election, idiots, and insane persons do not 
have the right to vote. Every other citizen who is at least twenty- 
one years of age, who has resided in the State one year, and in the 
county six months, and in the precinct sixty days next preceding the 
election shall be a voter in said district and not elsewhere. 

The Constitution provides that all elections by the people shall be 
by secret ballot, and it gives to the General Assembly the power to 
make laws governing the holding of elections. The government of 
the State is by the consent of the people. Every voter, through his 
ballot, has a voice in the affairs of the State, and no one is per¬ 
mitted to interfere with his right. The Constitution and the laws 
of Kentucky endeavor to protect the voter in his right to a voice in 
his government, and to punish any person who may attempt to bribe 
or hinder him. Candidates likewise may be punished for attempting 
to secure their election to office by any unlawful means. 

Vacancies in all offices for the state at large, or for districts larger 
than a county, are filled by appointment of the Governor; all other 
appointments are made under laws passed by the General Assembly. 
Since the General Assembly is a law making body no vacancies occur¬ 
ring in it shall be filled by appointment, but the General Assembly 
may provide laws for special elections to fill such vacancies. 

Municipalities.—Cities and towns of the State are divided by the 
Constitution into six classes according to population. The General 
Assembly is given the power to enact laws governing the organization 
and management of each class, but all laws governing cities of a given 
class must be uniform. The Constitution fixes the maximum tax rate 
for all cities and 'towns except for school purposes, but the rate must 
be the same for all taxing districts of the same class. Counties and 
municipalities are prohibited by the Constitution from contracting 
debts beyond their annual income without the assent of two-thirds 
of the voters thereof, voting in an election held for that purpose. This 
provision safeguards the people against an undue burden of debt and 
taxes except by their consent. 

Every county and municipality is given the right to self-govern¬ 
ment, limited only by the general provisions of the Constitution, and 
by acts of the Legislature. City government, like that of the state, is 
composed of three departments. The laws are made by the town 
board or council, executed by the mayor and police, and interpreted 
or administered by the city judges and attorneys. The intention of 
the Constitution and the general laws passed by the Legislature is 
to give every organized group of people as much self-government as 
possible, but all laws must conform to the requirements of the Con- 


THE CONSTITUTION 359 

stitution and to the acts of the General Assembly for the general good 
of the Commonwealth. 

Revenue and Taxation. —In order to provide money for running the 
state government a tax is laid upon property, but the Constitution ex¬ 
empts from taxation such as is used for public and religious purposes. 
Under this provision courthouses, asylums, charitable and educational 
institutions are exempt. Taxes must be levied for public purposes 
only, and must be uniform on all property of the same class. It is 
the duty of the General Assembly to enact laws for the assessment of 
property and the collection of taxes. It also has the power to fix a 
tax upon incomes, licenses and franchises. It may also authorize 
counties and cities to levy a poll tax not to exceed one dollar and 
fifty cents per head. The Constitution endeavors to equalize the tax 
burdens on all classes according to the value of property owned by each. 

Education. —Tho Constitution requires the General Assembly to pro¬ 
vide by law for a good system of common schools. These are supported 
by the income from certain school funds and from a uniform school 
tax. Each county receives from the State annually its school funds 
on a per capita basis. In distributing the school fund, no distinction 
is made on account of race or color, but separate schools for white 
and colored children must be maintained. The State University and 
State Normal Schools being a part of the public school System are 
supported out of the State school fund. None of the public school 
fund shall be used for private or sectarian schools. All children 
between the ages of seven and fourteen must attend some school. 
The law now provides for the levying of a local tax for the further 
support of local public schools. 

Corporations. —Every corporation that does business in the State 
must file an acceptance of the requirements of the Constitution. No 
corporation is allowed to carry on any other business than that which 
is authorized by its charter or by the law under which it may be 
organized. Corporations must have at least one place of business, 
and at least one authorized agent within the State. All corpora¬ 
tions are subject to suit and prosecution, and are in every way 
answ T erable to the laws of the State just as individuals. The trans¬ 
portation of freight and passengers on railroads, steamboats and 
other common carriers are regulated by general laws so as to prevent 
unjust treatment of any citizen. Common carriers are forbidden to 
grant free passes, or to make special freight rates, or to otherwise 
grant special privileges to any persons not in their employment. All 
trusts, pools and combinations for the purpose of unnaturally raising 
or lowering the value of any article are illegal. 

Corporations are useful in the development of the wealth and re¬ 
sources of a State, but like individuals they must be governed by the 
Constitution and the laws of the Commonwealth. They are protected 


360 


KENTUCKY 


in their rights and at the same time the people are protected from any 
injustice they might attempt. 

Railroads and Commerce. —The Constitution provides for a “ Railroad 
Commission” composed of three persons to be elected by the people. 
The duties of the Commission is to see that the laws concerning the 
railroad service to the people are properly observed. Railroads and 
other common carriers are prohibited from owning, leasing or man¬ 
aging factories, mines, or any other property or business except such 
as may be necessary to carry on their own affairs. These and other 
safeguards prevent a combination of powerful companies or com¬ 
mercial interests that might be harmful to the general welfare of the 
people. 

The Militia. —Every able-bodied male citizen of the State between the 
ages of eighteen and forty-five, except such persons as may be exempt 
by law, may be called into the military service of the State. The 
General Assembly shall provide for an organized body of militia, to 
be equipped and disciplined, as far as possible, according to the 
regulations of the United States army. The Governor is made com¬ 
mander-in-chief of the army. The militia is a part of the police power 
of the State to preserve order and to put down mobs, riots and insur¬ 
rections. During war the militia becomes a part of the United States 
army and is not then under the control of the Governor. 

General Provisions. —There are many general provisions in the Con¬ 
stitution for the peace and safety of the people, and the conduct of 
the affairs of the State. Armed bodies of men are forbidden to enter 
the State except by consent of the Governor or the General Assembly. 
Lotteries and gift enterprises of a gambling sort are prohibited. 
Provisions are made for the punishment of judges, sheriffs and other 
officers for failure to perform their duties, or for misdemeanors in 
office. Officers of the law, members of the General Assembly, judges 
of the courts are required to take oath to support the Constitution of 
the State and of the United States, and to faithfully discharge their 
duties as officials. 

Treason against the State consists in levying war against it, or in 
adhering to its enemies, giving them aid and comfort, and is punish¬ 
able by law. All civil officers of the State at large must reside within 
it, and all other officers must reside within the towns, cities and dis¬ 
tricts they serve. The salaries of public officials shall not be changed 
during the term for which they were elected. 

Challenging, accepting a challenge, or the fighting of a duel is 
punishable by law. Any person may be punished who by wrongful act, 
negligence or carelessness, may cause the death or injury of another. 

A grand jury is composed of twelve men whose duty it is to inquire 
into the violation of the laws of the Commonwealth and to bring a 
charge, or indictment, against any offenders. If indicted the offender 
is brought to trial before the circuit court. 


THE CONSTITUTION 


361 


Amending and Revising the Constitution. —It requires three-fifths 
of all the members elected to each House of the General Assembly to 
propose an amendment to the Constitution. If passed by a three-fifths 
vote the amendment is then submitted to the people for their ratifica¬ 
tions or rejection at the next general election. If a majority of the 
votes cast favor the amendment, then it shall become a part of the 
Constitution of the State, and shall be so proclaimed by the Governor. 
Not more than two amendments shall be voted on at one time, and 
they must be submitted so as to allow a separate vote on each, and 
no amendment shall relate to more than one subject. Before an 
amendment is submitted to a vote of the people it must be published 
at least ninety days before the vote is taken so the people may properly 
understand the change that is proposed. 

To revise the Constitution, the General Assembly must pass an act 
by a majority vote of the members elected to each House calling 
for a convention to revise the Constitution. Then it will be necessary 
for the next General Assembly in like manner to favor the calling of 
a convention. If passed by each of the two sessions of the General 
Assembly it is then submitted to a vote of the people. If a majority 
of the people favor it, and the total number of votes cast is equal 
to one-fourth of the number of qualified voters who voted in the last 
preceding general election, the Secretary of State shall certify the 
same to the next General Assembly. It shall then be the duty of the 
General Assembly to call for a convention to readopt, revise or amend 
the Constitution. The Constitutional Convention shall consist of as 
many delegates as there are members in the House of Representatives 
and they must have the same qualifications and be elected from the 
same districts as the Representatives. It will be seen from the above 
provisions that the revision and amendment of the Constitution is a 
very slow and difficult task. 





INDEX 


Abolition, movement, 238, 249. 

Adair, General John, 195, 210; in 
battle of New Orleans, 214; 
Governor of Kentucky, 220. 

Agriculture, development of, 315. 

Alien and Sedition Laws, 182. 

Allen, James Lane, quoted, 1, 63. 

Allen, John, 196, 197, 204, 205. 

Anderson, Robert, surrenders Fort 
Sumter, 262; commander Fed¬ 
eral troops, 270, 274. 

Anglo-Saxon Settlers, 155. 

Anti-Federalist Party, 178, 256. 

Anti-Relief Party, 220, 222. 

Art and Artists, 236. 

Arthur, Gabriel, 17, 156. 

Backwoodsmen, 104. 

Ballard, Thurston, 334. 

Bank of Kentucky, 218. 

Banking, beginning of, 216. 

Barbour, Major Philip, 243. 

Bardstown, settled, 131. 

Barlow, Thomas, inventor, 235. 

Barry, William T., 208, 210, 223, 
22.4; defeated for Governor, 227. 

Batts, Captain Thomas, 17. 

Beauregard (bo'rehgard), General, 
262. 

Beck, James B., 304. 

Beckham, J. C. W., 308, 309; 
elected Senator, 315; defeated, 
334. 

Bell, Joshua, 252. 

Benton, Mortimer H., 292. 

Big Sandy Valley settled, 155; 
first explorers, 156; oldest town, 
157. 

Black, James D., 315, 334. 

Blackburn, J. C. S., 304, 307. 

Blackburn, Governor Luke P., 304. 

Blennerhassett (blen er has'et), 
Herman, 193, 194. 


“ Bloody Monday, ” 251. 

Blue Licks, Battle of, 97. 

Boiling Springs settled, 41. 

Books and newspapers of pioneer 
days, 175. 

Boone, Daniel, 21; sketch of, 24; 
38, 44, 56, 60, 65; captured, 67; 
escape, 69; 96, 156, 190; death 
of, 232. 

Boone, Squire, 26, 28, 67. 

Boonesborough settled, 45; at¬ 
tacked, 56; siege of, 69; fort, 

70 \ 

Bowling Green settled, 159; Con¬ 
federate capital, 277. 

Bowman, Joseph, 76. 

Boyle, John, Chief Justice, 221, 
224. 

Boyle, Jeremiah T., 280, 290. 

Bradford, John, 148. 

Bradley, William O., elected Gov¬ 
ernor, 307, 308. 

Bragg, General Braxton, in Mex¬ 
ican War, 245; in Civil War, 
286, 287. 

Bramlette, Governor Thomas, 289. 

Brank, Ephraim M., n. 213. 

Breathitt, John, elected Governor, 
227. 

Breckinridge, John, 183. 

Breckinridge, John C., Vice Presi¬ 
dent, 252; favors convention, 
260; officer in Confederate army, 
274. 

Breckinridge, Robert, 148. 

Breckinridge, Robert J., 293. 

Breckinridge, Mrs. Madeline Mc¬ 
Dowell, 339. 

Breckinridge, W. C. P., 339. 

Bristow, L. L., 313. 

British, invasion of Kentucky, 69; 
attacked by Clark, 77, 78; at¬ 
tack on Bryan’s Station, 93; 


363 


364 


INDEX 


intrigues, 122, 152; tyranny of, 
199. 

Broadhead, Daniel, 131; store, 131. 

Brown, James, 148. 

Brown, John, 116, 118, 126, 140, 
141, 149. 

Brown, John Young, eleeted Gov¬ 
ernor, 305; defeated, 308. 

Brown, General Scott, 267. 

Bryan, William J., 307. 

Bryan’s Station settled, 83; at¬ 
tacked by British and Indians, 
93. 

Buchannan (bukan'an), James, 
Secretary of State, 246. 

Buchannan, Dr. Joseph, 236. 

Buckner, Simon Bolivar, 267, 272; 
surrenders Ft. Donelson, 278; 
elected Governor, 304; sound 
money candidate, 307. 

Buell, General Don Carlos, 278, 
286, 287. 

Buena Vista, battle of, 244; 
heroes buried, 247. 

Bullitt, Alexander S., 148. 

Bullitt, Captain Thomas, 37, 75. 

Burbridge, Steven G., 290. 

Burnham, C. F., 297. 

Burr, Aaron, conspiracy of, 192- 
195; first trial, 195; arrest and 
second trial, 196; punishment 
of, 197. 

Butler, General Thomas, 143. 

Butler, William O., 237, 243. 

Caldwell, Captain William, 92. 

Callaway, Richard, 65; daughters 
captured, 66. 

Camden, Johnson, 314. 

Camp Wild Cat, battle of, 274. 

Capture of three girls, 66. 

Carlisle, John G., 300; Secretary 
of State, 306. 

Cawein, Madison, quoted, 221. 

Census of 1790, 137; of 1800, 189. 

Circuit Rider, the, 158. 

Civil Disturbances, 335. 

Civil War, The, 273-293. 

Clark, George Rogers, 50, 51, 72; 
sends spies, 73; plans an expedi¬ 
tion, 72; results of, 81; builds 


fort, 87; punishes the Indians, 
98, 128; aids Genet, 164-167; 
death of, 232. 

Clark, Judge James, 221; elected 
Governor, 237. 

Claxton, P. P., quoted, 323. 

Clay, Cassius M., abolitionist, 238; 
in Mexican War, 243, 244; can¬ 
didate for Governor, 251. 

Clay, General Green, 207, 238. 

Clay, Henry, 181; defends Burr, 
196; favors taking Canada, 201, 
202; nominated for President, 
225-226; called the “Great Com¬ 
moner, ” 226; elected to U. S. 
Senate, 227; attitude to slavery, 
240; against annexation of Mex¬ 
ico, 246; candidate for Presi¬ 
dent, 248; last days, 249; death 
of, 250. 

Cobb, Irvin S., 341. 

Colleges, 322. 

Confederacy, fall of, 293. 

Confederate forces, in Kentucky, 
274-288. 

Confederate generals, 276. 

Confederate government of Ken¬ 
tucky, 276. 

Connolly, Dr. John, 128. 

Constitution, first, 145; second, 
185; third, 253; fourth, 304; 
outline of, 352. 

Corn Island settled, 74. 

Cornstalk, Indian chief, 38. 

Court Party and Country Party, 
112, 118. 

Cox, W. H., 312. 

Critical Period, 106. 

Crittenden, George B.,‘ 275, 276. 

Crittenden, John J., in the battle 
of the Thames, 208; elected Gov¬ 
ernor, 248; Attorney General, 
251; pleads for peace, 254, 260, 
264. 

Crittenden, General Thomas, 270, 
272, 275, 276. 

Crittenden, Colonel William L., 
leads filibustering expedition,’ 
250. 

Cumberland Gap, named, 19; gate¬ 
way to the West, 59-63, 


INDEX 


365 


Cumberland Road, the, 230. 
Cumberland Trace, 158. 

Danville, settlement of, 131; Con¬ 
ventions, 107-116; Political Club, 
129. 

Daveiss, Joseph Hamilton, 195, 
196; killed, 198. 

Davidge, Rezin H., 223. 

Davis, Garrett, 274. 

Davis, Jefferson, in Mexican War, 
245 ; sketch of, 258. 

Deboe, W. J., 307. 

De Tocqueville, quoted, 176. 
Democratic Party, 178, 251. 
Deshea, General Joseph, 209, 210; 

Governor, 222, 224. 

Dinwiddie, Robert, 21, 22. 
Douglas, James, 37. 

Drake, Dr. Daniel, 236. 

Dudley, Dr. Benjamin, 236. 
Dudley, Colonel William, 207. 
Duke, Colonel Basil, n. 284. 
Dunmore, Lord, Governor of Vir¬ 
ginia, 37; Dunmore’s War, 38; 
proclamation, 46. 

Duquesne (diikan), Captain, 69. 
Durrett, Colonel Ruben T., 17; 
arrested, 272. 

Early explorers, 16. 

Early laws, 54. 

Earthquake, 1811, 231. 

Education, cost of, compared, 323. 
Education and Art, 235. 
Educational Progress, 319. 
Edwards, John, 149. 

Elections, called to till vacancies, 
268; in 1864, 292; state and 
national, 312. 

Emancipation Proclamation, 289. 
Ernst, Richard P., 334. 

Estill, Captain James, 89; defeat 
of and death, 90. 

Estill’s Station, attack on, 89. 

Fall of the Confederacy, 293. 
Fallen Timbers, battle of, 153. 
Families, great Kentucky, 339. 
Farmers, some leading, 317. 

Farm Organizations, 318. 


Farm Products, value of, 318. 

Federalist Party, 178, 256. 

Field, Colonel John, 39. 

Filibusters warned, 164. 

Filson, John, 132. 

Financial Struggles, 215. 

Finley, John, 21. 

First house built in Kentucky, 19. 

First Legislative Assembly, 47. 

First Seal of Kentucky, 144, 149. 

First permanent settlement of Ken¬ 
tucky, 41; first wedding, 67; 
first schools, 85; first steamboat, 
133; first constitution, 145; first 
governor, 146; first capital, 146; 
first Legislature, 148; first per¬ 
manent State House, 151; first 
railroad, 227. 

Fiske, John, quoted, 103. 

Fitch, John, 133. 

Flemming, Colonel William, 39. 

Floyd, John, 65, 86; death of, 130. 

Forests and timber, 333. 

Forrest, N. B., n. 282. 

Fort Donelson, fall of, 278. 

Fort George, fall of, 207. 

Fort Henry, fall of, 278. 

Fort Jefferson, 87. 

Fort Sumter, fall of, 262. 

France, sympathy for, 162; in¬ 
trigue fails, 165; troubles with, 
200 . 

Frankfort, selected as capital, 150; 
heroes buried, 247. 

Freedmen’s Bureau, 297. 

Freemen, negro, cast their first 
vote, 299. 

French and English claims, 22. 

Frenchtown, first and second bat¬ 
tles of, 203, 204. 

Free Silver Campaign, 306. 

Garrard, Governor James, 181, 186. 

Garrard, Colonel T. T., 274. 

Genet, Edmund Charles, 162, 163; 
backers, 164. 

Geological surveys, 302. 

George III, Proclamation of, 23. 

Gibault, Pierre, 78. 

Girty, Simon, 88, 92, 93, 95. 

Gist, Christopher, 20, 21. 


366 


INDEX 


Goebel Election Law, 308; repeal 
of, 311. 

Goebel, William, 308; assassina¬ 
tion of, 309. 

Government, U. S., hesitancy of, 
138. 

Grant, General U. S., in Mexican 
War, 245; invades Kentucky, 
269, 278; at Shiloh, 279; cap¬ 
tures Lee’s army, 293, 294. 

Greensburg settled, 159. 

Greenup, Governor Christopher, 
189. 

Guerrillas (gerril'las), the, 282, 
290. 

Guthrie, Judge James, 293. 

Hamilton, Alexander, 182, 192. 

Hamilton, Colonel Henry, 55, 68; 
captured, 79. 

Hardin, Colonel John, 139, 152. 

Hardin, P. W., 307. 

Hard Times, 228. 

Hard Winter, 83. 

Harlan, Major, 96, 98. 

Harlan, Major, 96, 98. 

Harlan, General John M., 288, 297, 
300. 

Harmar’s defeat, 138. 

Harmon’s Station, 157. 

Harrison, General William H., 
198; commissioned, 202; in War 
of 1812, 203-209. 

Harrodsburg settled, 41. 

Harrod, James, 37, 41, 76. 

Hart, Joel T., 236. 

Helm, John L., inaugurated Gover¬ 
nor, 251; re-elected, 297. 

Helm, Leonard, 76, 80. 

Henderson, Colonel Richard, 43-53. 

Henry, Patrick, 50, 87. 

Hines, Thomas H., n. 284. 

Hobson, Edward H., 276. 

Holly, Dr. Horace, 235. 

Holmes House, 150. 

Home Guards, 272. 

Hood, John B., 276. 

Hopkinsville settled, 159. 

Huguenots (hu'genots), 103. 

Hull, General Isaac, 202. 

Hunter, W. Godfrey, 307. 


Indian attacks, 41, 55, 56, 84, 93. 

Indian chiefs, Grand Council of, 
92. 

Indians punished, 98; expeditions 
against, 88, 98, 127; subdued, 
145; refuse to make treaty, 151. 

Indian Tribes, 10; relics, 11; re¬ 
ligion and home life, 12; char¬ 
acter and dress, 13; government, 
14. 

Innes, Harry, 109, 111, 126, 140. 

Invasions of Kentucky, first, 273- 
274; second, 286-288. 

Inventions and inventors, 133, 134; 
use and need of, 234. 

Ivy Mountain, battle of, 274. 

Jackson, Andrew, 195; at New Or¬ 
leans, 212; defeated for presi¬ 
dency, 226; elected President, 
227; vetoes charter of U. S. 
Bank, 228. 

Jackson, General Thomas J., in 
Mexican War, 245. 

Jacob, Richard T., 289. 

James, Ollie M., 313. 

Jay, John, 108, 115; treaty, 178; 
burned in effigy, 179. 

Jefferson, Thomas, 50, 74, 87, 182, 
185; purchases Louisiana, 188. 

Johnson, George W., 277. 

Johnson, James, 209. 

Johnson, Sir William, 23. 

Johnson, Richard M., 208-210. 

Johnston, General Albert Sidney, 
276; evacuates Bowling Green, 
278; killed, 279. 

Jones, Gabriel, 51. 

Jouett, Matthew H., 236. 

Kahokia captured, 78. 

Kanawha (ka na' wa), battle of, 
39. 

Kaskaskia, capture of, 77. 

Kentuckians, manners and customs 
of, 168; as leaders, 337. 

Kentucky, before the white man 
came, 1; shape, 1; description 
of, 1-4; attempted settlement of, 
35; immigration, 55; county di¬ 
vided, 86; part in the Revolution, 


INDEX 


367 


81; separation from Virginia, 
106; Conventions, 107-120; En¬ 
abling acts, 111, 114, 119, 120; 
enters the Union, 114; in the 
Revolution, 122; progress, 169; 
Resolutions, 183 ; in War of 1812, 
199; The Purchase, 230; loyalty 
to the Union, 253-255; attitude 
to secession, 257, 260; neutrality 
of, 263, 270. 

Kentucky Authors, 341. 

Kentucky and the Federal Govern¬ 
ment, 267. 

Kentucky Gazette, 127, 147. 

Kentucky River Company, 331. 

Kentucky soldier", 276. 

Kelley, William, inventor, 235. 

Kenton, Simon, 52, 56; sketch of, 
57; joins Clark, 75; death of, 
233. 

Knott, Governor J. Proctor, 304. 

Know-Nothing Party, 251. 

Ku Klux Klan, 298. 

Labor and Capital, contest of, 307. 

Land Companies, 18. 

Landrum, Colonel J. J., 284. 

Langley, John W., 315. 

LaSalle, Robert de, 16. 

Lee, General Robert E., in Mexican 
War, 245; commander of Con¬ 
federate armies, 293, 294; sur¬ 
renders, 293. 

Legislature, first, 47, 148; reso¬ 
lutions of, 183, 187; special ses¬ 
sion called, 264; loyalty of, 269; 
repeal of the acts against 
treason, 296. 

Leslie, Preston H., elected Gover¬ 
nor, 300. 

Letcher, Robert P., Governor, 237. 

Lewis, General Andrew, 38, 39. 

Lewis, Colonel William, at the bat¬ 
tle of Frenchtown, 204, 205. 

Lexington settled, 82. 

Lincoln, Abraham, sketch of, 158; 
attitude to slavery, 261; in¬ 
auguration of, 261;. calls for 
troops, 263; refuses to acknowl¬ 
edge neutrality of Kentucky, 
267; plan to free the slaves, 285; 


issues Emancipation Proclama¬ 
tion, 289; re-elected, 293; as¬ 
sassination, 295; n. 296. 

Lincoln Guns, 273. 

Linsay, William J., 307, 310. 

Lodge, Henry Cabot, quoted, 166. 

Logan, Colonel Benjamin, 55, 65, 
86, 89, 96; victory, 128; mem¬ 
ber of War Board, 140. 

Logan ’s Station settled, 41; at¬ 
tack on, 55, 56. 

Long Hunters, The, 28. 

“Lost Cause,” 295. 

Louisville Courier, 272, 341. 

Louisville settled, 74; Louisville 
Legion, 242. 

Louisiana, map of, 188; ceded by 
Spain to France, 187; purchase 
of, 188. 

Loyal Land Company, 19. 

Lynn, Captain William, 75. 

Lyon, Matthew, 184, n. 184. 

Madison, George, Governor, 215. 

Madison, James, President, 199, 
201, 203. 

Magoffin, Beriah, elected Governor, 
252; refuses call for troops, 263; 
calls a special session of the 
Legislature, 264; issues a warn¬ 
ing, 266; vetoes resolutions, 269, 
270; calls out troops, 274; re¬ 
signs, 285. 

Manufacture, early, 170. 

Manufacturing industries, 332. 

Marshall, John, 114. 

Marshall, Humphrey, 112, 180. 

Marshall, Thomas, 238. 

Marshall, Colonel Humphrey, 220; 
in Mexican War, 242, 244; in 
Civil War, 274. 

Martial law declared, 280; abuse 
of, 296. 

McAfee brothers, 37, 45. 

McAfee’s Station, 41, 45. 

McBride, James, 20, 65. 

McBride, Major, 96, 98. 

McClellan, General George B., in 
Mexican War, 245; commander 
Union troops, 267; candidate for 
President, 292. 


368 


INDEX 


McCreary, James B., elected Gov¬ 
ernor, 304; senator, 307; re¬ 
elected Governor, 313. 

McDermott, Edward J., 313. 

McDowell, Samuel, 111, 130. 

McDowell, Dr. Ephraim, 236. 

McFadden’s Station, 159. 

McGary, Hugh, 65, 96. 

McKee, William R., 242, at battle 
of Buena Vista, 244, 245. 

Menefee, Richard, 238. 

Metcalfe, Thomas, elected Gover¬ 
nor, 227; appointed U. S. sena¬ 
tor, 248. 

Mills, Judge Benjamin, 221. 

Mill Springs, battle of, 277. 

Mining Industries, 324. 

Mississippi River controlled by 
Spain, 117, 123; treaty concern¬ 
ing, 179. 

Money, scarcity of, 216; kinds of, 
217. 

Monterey, capture of, 242. 

Montgomery, Joseph, 75. 

Morehead, Governor Charles S., 
251; arrested, 272. 

Morgan, General John H., in Mex¬ 
ican War, 245; in Civil War, 
272; cavalry raids, 283, 286, 288. 

Morrow, Edwin P., 315; elected 
Governor, 334. 

Motto, of Kentucky, 150, 351. 

Mound Builders, 5, 156. 

Muter, George, 111, 149. 

Needham, James, 17. 

Negro soldiers, recruiting, 291. 

Nelson, General William, 273, 274. 

Neutrality abandoned, 270. 

New Court Party, 221-226. 

New England, attitude to War of 
1812, 201. 

New Orleans, battle of, 211-213. 

Nicholas, George, 148. 

Night Riders, the 311. 

Normal Schools, 322. 

Old Court Party, 221-226. 

Oldham, William, 142. 

Old Kentucky Home, 171, 172. 


O ’Hara, Theodore, in Mexican 
War, 247; sketch, n. 248; at 
Shiloh, 279; quoted, 232, 247. 

Ohio Land Company, 19, 20. 

Omnibus Bill, 249. 

O’Rear, Judge E. C., 313. 

Ormsby, Colonel, in Mexican War, 
242. 

Owen, David D., geologist, 302. 

Owens, Colonel Abraham, 198. 

Owensboro, settled, 159. 

Owsley, Judge William, 221; 
elected Governor, 237; calls for 
volunteers, 241. 

Packenham, Sir Edward, 211, 212. 

Paris, settled, 131. 

Patterson, Dr. James K., 322. 

Patterson, Colonel Robert, 82, 132. 

Payne, General John, 202. 

Paynter, Thomas H., 307, 313. 

Perils and Romance, 66. 

Perry, Oliver H., 208. 

Petroleum, discovery and produc¬ 
tion of, 326. 

Pinckney, Thomas, 180, 187. 

Pioneer preachers, 158; pioneer 
women, 173. 

Pioneer schools, 85; pioneer homes, 
176. 

Pioneers, character of, 30; his In¬ 
dian foe, 32; origin, 100, 103; 
settle Kentucky, 41; at play, 
175. 

Point Pleasant, battle of, 38. 

Politics, National, 225; state, 334: 

Political crisis, 161; political be¬ 
ginnings, 177; political affairs, 
302. 

Political parties, rise of, 178; con¬ 
test of, 182-183; changes in, 
226; conservative and radical 
elements, 297. 

Polk, James K., President, 241. 

Population in 1920, compared, 336. 

Powder obtained, 51. 

Powell, Governor Lazarus W., 251. 

Power, Thomas, 180. 

Powers, Caleb, 315. 

Prehistoric Animals, 9. 

Prentice, George D., 252. 


INDEX 369 


Preston, General William, in Mex¬ 
ican War, 242; in Civil War, 
276. 

Preston, Colonel William, surveyor, 
37. 

Primary Election Law, 314. 

Prison reforms, 304. 

Proctor, General, at Frenchtown, 
204, 205; at the Raisin, 205; 
at Fort Meigs, 206; at the 
Thames, 207, 209, 211. 

Proprietary Government, 43. 

Purchase, The, 231. 

Railroad, first built in Kentucky, 
227. 

Raisin (ra'zn), massacre of, 205. 

Recruiting soldiers, 273. 

Relief Party, 220-222. 

Relics, Indian, 11. 

Religion, of pioneers, 158, 174; re¬ 
vival of, 190. 

Republican Party, 178. 

Review of a hundred and forty- 
eight years, 343. 

Revolutionary War, 81, 103; sol¬ 
diers of, 105. 

River Highways, development of, 
331. 

Roads to Kentucky, 59-63. 

Roads, improvement of, 328-331; 
legislation, 329-330. 

Road Commissioners, 330. 

Robertson, Judge George, 292. 

Robinson, Governor Janies F., 285. 

Robinson, Camp Dick, 273. 

Roosevelt, Theodore, quoted, 126, 
140, 165, 173, 180, 195. 

Rousseau, Lovell H., 276. 

Rowan, John, 223, 224. 

Ruddle’s Station settled, 83; cap¬ 
ture of, 84. 

Rumsey, James, inventor, 134. 

Russellville, settled, 159; meeting 
of Confederate convention in, 
276. 

Salt makers captured, 67. 

Santa Anna, General, 240, 243. 

Schools, 85, 235, 319, 323. 

School legislation, 320-322. 

Scotch-Irish, 102, 103. 


Scott, General Charles, 141, 152; 
elected Governor, 197-202. 

Scott, General Winfield, 244, 245. 

Sebastian, Benjamin, 126, 149. 

Secession, 261. 

Second Invasion of Kentucky, 280. 

Semple, Ellen, 240; quoted, 168. 

Separatists’, movement of, 180. 

Shaler, Nathan S., geologist, 302; 
quoted, 145. 

Sherman, General William T., in 
Mexican War, 245. 

Shelby, Isaac, 39; at King’s Moun¬ 
tain, 123; member of War 
Board, 140; Governor, 146; 
raises troops, 152; in Genet 
enterprise, 165; re-elected Gov¬ 
ernor, 202; in the War of 1812, 
207, 208; death of, 233. 

Shiloh, battle of, 279. 

Slaughter, Gabriel, Governor, 215. 

Slavery, 181, 238; Kentucky’s atti¬ 
tude to, 240; in the South, 255; 
doomed, 289. 

Slaves, number of, 255; freed in 
District of Columbia, 279; plan 
to free them, 285; freed and 
given political rights, 296; be¬ 
havior, 299. 

Smith, General Kirby, 287. 

Smith, General Green Clay, 276, 
284. 

Smith, Z. F., quoted, 281. 

Smithers (Smothers), William, 
159. 

Soldier settlers, 105. 

Sovereignty Convention, 276. 

Spanish intrigues, 117, 118, 122, 
125, 182. 

Speed, James, 297. 

Spirit of Independence, 49. 

Squatters and Surveyors, 36. 

Stanley, A. O., elected Governor, 
315. 

State Guards, 271. 

State House, new, 305. 

States’ Rights, 256. 

St. Clair’s Expedition and defeat, 
141; Governor northwest, 164. 

Stevenson, John W., elected Gover¬ 
nor, 297. 


370 


INDEX 


Stewart, John, 26. 

Stoner, Michael, 38, 57. 

Sycamore Shoals, Treaty of, 43. 

Taylor, William S., 308, 310. 

Taylor, General Zachary, in the 
Mexican War, 241-245; elected 
President, 248. 

Tecumseh, Indian chief, 198, 207; 
in the battle of the Thames, 209; 
killed, 210. 

Temperance Campaign, 313. 

Texas, settlement of, 239; Bevo- 
lution, 239; enters the Union, 
241. 

Thomas, General George H., 278. 

Tilghman (til'man), General 
Lloyd, 272. 

Tippecanoe, battle of, 198. 

Tobacco troubles, 311, 312. 

Todd, John, 37, 57, 65, 86, 96. 

Todd, Charles, 210. 

Todd, Levi, 37, 96. 

Todd, Thomas, 111. 

Toll Gate Baiders, 307. 

Tompkinsville raided, 284. 

Trade, development of, 186; ene¬ 
mies of, 187. 

Transylvania Company, 43. 

Transylvania Settlement, 45; as¬ 
sembly, 47; conflict of authority, 
* 49; results, 52; land grant to, 
53. 

Treaties, of 1763, 23; with In¬ 
dians, 40; Sycamore Shoals, 43 ; 
with England, 179; with Spain, 
180; of Ghent, 211; Guadaloupe 
Hidalgo, 246. 

Trimble, John, 223. 

‘ 1 True American, ’ ’ Abolition pa¬ 
per, 239. 

Truman, Major, 152. 

Trying times, 91. 

Turner, historian, quoted, 104, 105. 

Tyler, John, President, 241. 

Underwood, Joseph B., 252. 

Union Generals, 276. 

Union Party, 252; leaders, 297. 

Union or disunion, 259. 

United States Banks, 224. 


Vincennes captured, 78; fall and 
recapture, 79. 

Virginia, Charter of 1609, 21 
divides Kentucky County, 86 
protects Kentucky settlers, 3 
Kentucky part of Virginia, 5o; 
grant to Transylvania Company 
53; acts of separation of Ken 
tucky, 111-120. 

Wabash Indians, 141. 

Wadsworth, William H., 297. 

Walker, Dr. Thomas, 19, 21, 156. 

Wallace, Caleb, 149. 

War Board, 140. 

Wars, Dunmore’s, 38; Bevolutior 
122; War of 1812, 199-211; 
Mexican War, 237-245; Civil 
War, 271-295. 

War and Waste, 327. 

“ Warrior’s Path/’ 17. 

Washington, George, 22, 143, 146; 
first surveyor, 156; attitude to 
the West, 166; re-elected, 178. 

Watterson, Henry, journalist, 341. 

Wayne, General Anthony, 152; 
defeats Indians, 153. 

West, Edward, inventor, 134. 

Westward expansion, 189. 

Western fever, 42. 

Whigs and Whig governors, 237, 
248; fall of Whig Party, 251. 

Whitley, William, n. 210. 

Wilderness Boad, 44; map of, 60; 
description of, 61; influence of, 
63, 124. 

Wilkinson, James, 110, 111, 115, 
125; failure of, 126. 

Williams, Captain John, 242, 245, 
304. 

Willson, Augustus E., elected Gov¬ 
ernor, 312. 

Winchester, General James, 203- 
205. 

Wood, Colonel Abraham, 17. 

Woolford, Colonel Frank, 284, 292. 

World War, 327; cost of, 328. 

Wyandots, attack, 90. 

Zollicoffer, General Felix, 274; 
killed, 278. 


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